


A Stolen Crown of Thievery

by Nyella



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adult Chara (Undertale), Adult Frisk (Undertale), F/F, F/M, Female Frisk (Undertale), Heisttale, I have plenty of drama in store, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Male Chara (Undertale), Minor Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Minor Mettaton/Papyrus (Undertale), Tagging this as we go along, Thieftale, Underheist, Underthief, alright I’ll stop, be prepared
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-19 23:46:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22072900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyella/pseuds/Nyella
Summary: “i have to admit that you’re good at what ya do. say, ya wouldn’t happen to be in between jobs, would ya?"“Nope. I’m loyal to being treated as a dirtbag on the regular at the local coffeeshop. Why would I wanna trade that for anything else.”“dunno. maybe ‘cause ya could use your talent for something more suitable.” Her back was still a barrier between them, but she could practically feel the wink he just sent her way. The crimson on her cheeks deepened greatly.The tea was almost ready and her silence had only made Sans ever the more curious. It was all she could do to not inquire more about this job offer.“One green tea for Sans.” She said, being careful not to look him in the eyes. If they made eye contact she was pretty sure that she’d be persuaded by the light in them to ask. The cocksure grin blossoming on his face was enough evidence of him knowing that too.He grabbed the tea from her hands. The moment before turning away they locked gazes – despite the many warnings in her head – and left Frisk cursing under her breath. It really didn’t matter what she’d thought before, the pure challenge in his eyes was enough to push her over the edge.What the hell. She was already a criminal.
Relationships: Frisk/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 57





	1. Sans

In a flurry of motions and a matter of seconds, the wallet was taken from its cozy hiding place in the stranger’s jacket pocket and hidden inside Frisk’s own trustworthy duster. She scurried down the street as fast as she could without seeming suspicious, dodging all passersby with ease, before ducking behind a corner to check the goods for anything of value. It took but a moment to gather all the cash in a bundle and the coins in a pile, and even less time to drop the wallet on the ground again when she was done with it. Some good soul would probably return it to the owner. This brought her total up to 15 bucks and 53 cents since she had started a couple minutes ago. Not bad. Not bad at all.

However it wasn’t sufficient, and her hunger for more money brought her back onto the heavy-trafficked street, where she continued to pickpocket unfortunate passersby who would pay for her food without their knowing. Her duster would billow dramatically when a somewhat strong gust of wind came her way. The feeling of a heavy purse would keep her grounded to reality. And the rush of stealing again and again kept her on a high all the while she moved.

She felt… Great. Amazing even.

Until the very moment where she didn’t. The moment where she – despite her many years of expertise – got caught so fast that she almost recoiled from the backlash of having someone gripping her wrist tightly. Her gasp of surprise wasn’t unlike a high-pitched shriek and caused her a moment of embarrassment. The stranger gripping her wrist wasted no time on chit-chat before getting up in her face to tell her off. As Frisk took in the physical appearance of the person she had been pickpocketing a moment ago, she realized that it wasn’t a _person_ as much as it was an _individual_. Staring at her with diamonds glittering of fury, was a skeleton. One of the very few monster inhabitants of her city. His cranium was a chalky white, his eye sockets black as space and his shit-eating grin was so self-satisfactory that he couldn’t possibly be more of a douchebag.

Before he could even open his jaw to speak, Frisk had already planned an escape route. Then she striked him in his chest, pointedly aware of the placement of a monster soul, and took off as fast as her little legs could muster after a long day outside. The monster didn’t even shout after her as she ran or tried to stop her, so she counted that as a win in her book. There could be no way of following her through that maze of people, even if he had chased her from the beginning. She was just that good.

Ego-boost or none, it didn’t stop her from running into yet another body – when she sharply turned a corner – and landing on her behind in a very inelegant manner. Mumbling under her breath, she dusted her coat off from dust. And that was when she really fucked up.

“heya. you look a bit down, want me to crack a joke?” Said the person who she had run into.

She looked up at the face of the spokesperson, just to find the same face she had looked at briefly before. It was that skeleton who she thought had let her go.

“c’mon now. diddya see a ghost or something? if i didn’t know any better i’d say you’re surprised.” He held out a hand for Frisk to take, but she hesitated as she was too busy scrutinizing him. Her eyes turned to slits in defiance and trying to keep a sliver of her pride left, she pushed herself up from the ground. People around them were walking like nothing had occurred. Either because they didn’t care, or else it was because they thought the two already knew each other.

Which one could say they kind of did, if you counted that time ten seconds ago where she tried to steal his money. Depending on how you saw it, it was a bonding activity in some way.

The skeleton was wearing an open, dark blue parka and his skeletal fingers were covered with fashionable leather gloves. The hood of his parka was drawn over his skull in an attempt to keep out the cold, or just to look mysterious. Frisk had no clue if monsters ever felt cold or hot. It wasn’t taught in schools.

“what? cat got your tongue?” He taunted, casually putting his hand back in his pockets while he pinned her with his sparkling gaze. His eye sockets might had been pure black but they were decorated by two shimmering dots of white. On the spot Frisk was attracted to them – although not the character whom they belonged to.

Then she had a terrible idea that might just work if she executed it correctly, or if she was just stupid enough to confuse him. Really, it depended on luck and his way of thinking.

All it took was a brief look at his right pocket and a glance down the street behind him, and then she was set. She was very aware of her body language, looking exactly where it was needed and hoping to god that it would trick him.

“Nah. Cat got your money.” She hissed. Then she pushed him with one hand to confuse him, the other frantically grabbing into his right pocket, looking for something, anything. His left hand quickly went around her wrist, his right going around her waist, chaining her to his front so she couldn’t escape. At the sharp motion of locking her body tight against his ribs, she felt something rectangular against her stomach. Not the shape of any bone she knew. Her other hand pushed at him, clawed at his clothes. At some point she even pulled away his jacket so she could tear at his shirt hem while her legs were taking turns kicking at his shins. The distraction worked perfectly.

“pal you really got some guts, but my wallet ain’t in my pocket.” Frisk squirmed and twisted.

“Let me go!” She yelped, this time creating a scene. She was done here and needed to get away stat. “Somebody help! He’s trying to hurt me!”

Everyone gave them weird looks then, and a group of young men approached carefully.

“Everything okay here?” One of them asked. Despite not being in any actual danger, she appreciated the thought.

“yeah. just had a small chat.” Frisk wriggled more, pleadingly looking at the man who had just spoken.

“Please! Don’t let him harm me, sir!” People were stopping now, standing a few feet away. The four men were looking ready to force him to release the grip on her, but the skeleton did it willingly after taking in the amount of people there. Immediately Frisk drew back, closer and closer to the safety of the crowd. There were red marks where his fingers had been shutting off her blood circulation and a lingering effect of the pressure from his arm around her waist.

“look i mean no harm, yeah? she attacked me, not the opposite! stop looking at me like i’m a monst- wait, where did she go?”

Seeing this as her cue, she pushed through the crowd and backtracked to one of the town squares she regularly visited, her overall appearance and way of carrying herself boring enough to let her go unnoticed as she hurriedly made way back to her apartment. With some pause in-between she made sure to look over her shoulders two or three times during her escape.

Not even a couple streets away from the skeleton she couldn’t help herself. She took out his wallet from her duster, and after close consideration decided to keep all of its contents. While there wasn’t much actual money in it, there was a credit card and some pictures of the skeleton with another skeleton. Probably family, friend or a boyfriend, she mused. As she finally reached her apartment in the shittiest part of town, she mimicked the shit-eating grin she’d seen the skeleton wear the first time she saw him.

Oh, she was _good_.

* * *

At some time after the incident she found herself sitting on her couch, contemplating how he could’ve gotten around that corner before she did. In her hands was his wallet, empty of its contents which were spread on the coffee table. She’d found multiple credit cards, only a few coins, some photos and oddly enough a joke written on a small piece of paper that you might achieve New Year’s Eve from a party cracker. It said “ _Why did the chicken cross the road? Because it wanted to get to the other side.”_

The name of the skeleton was Sans The Skeleton, which would had been a shame to call creative on his parents’ part. If she wasn’t totally off, he had a determiner as his middle name. Who even _does_ that?

 _Well, to each their own_. She thought. It wasn’t as if she would ever see him again if she could help it; actually she wouldn’t complain if she never saw a speck of him ever. He had thought her stupid or maybe even green at what she did, and he got what he deserved when she took his property.

Who hides their wallet under their shirt anyway? Paranoid people, that’s who. Which would imply that Sans wasn’t totally oblivious to the mentality of most underclass people, and that he might even be like Frisk. That would certainly explain why he had caught her so fast. Thieves couldn’t help but think everyone else to be one too.

“Would you look at that,” she said to no one in particular, “I stole from a thief.”

A small satisfied smile was plastered on her face as she placed the wallet on the table. Her living room was a bit messy, but in the organized way. Despite only having three rooms in the entire apartment – bathroom, kitchen and living room – she managed to fill up all her space with knick-knacks and personal things. The main room was used as bedroom, living room and dining area, but living in a busy city like this with sky high rent for just a one room apartment really left her no choice. Besides, she didn’t hate it. It was just hard to pay rent on time when winter came around due to the lack of gullible tourists. Being a part-time barista in one of the many Starbuns in the city didn’t pay well, and pickpocketing could be the difference between paying rent on time and starving because she had no money left.

Her couch was comfortable to sit on as she thought more about the skeleton, she’d seen that day. It wasn’t often that she saw monsters out in the street, since they mostly kept to themselves. On top of that not many monsters lived in big cities like this one, New Jackhill, since they generally lived around Mt. Ebott where they originated. The mountain was said to have a magical aura that the monsters got stronger from being near, but Frisk had never been there and had no magical abilities like the monsters had, so she couldn’t conclude whether or not that was right. Still, she was kind of curious.

So what was he doing here, miles and miles away from his hometown? Did it have something to do with the fact that he might be a thief himself? Maybe he was a rogue and used his magic to steal easier. _That would be cool_ , Frisk mused. _Sort of like a character from a storybook._

**GONG**

**…**

**GONG**

**…**

**GONG**

**…**

**GONG**

She stiffened. The sound of the city hall clocktower wasn’t good news. Four gongs meant that it was four o’clock. And four o’clock meant that–

“ _Shit!_ I’m late for my shift!” Frisk exclaimed, immediately jumping up from the couch and grabbing her keys from the bowl on the commode next to her front door. She shrugged on her jacket and slipped on some shoes, cursing under her breath as she imagined the going-over from her boss. That was some solid money right out from her paycheck. Just what she needed.

* * *

Working at Starbuns was mentally challenging more than it was physically challenging. The customers could be such idiots or rude douchebags that it could ruin the rest of her evening when the shift at the coffeeshop finally ended at 8:30.

That day the iced lemon loaf cake was sold out pretty quickly, and multiple customers made sure she knew just how unforgivable that was. And then when she had to ask for the order two times because a customer spoke too low, they called her a retarded bitch who couldn’t hear properly.

_And they have the nerve to call me rude?_

It was a handspan of minutes before closing time that the entry bell rang anew. Frisk looked up from the cappuccino she was handing out to see the new customers. She almost dropped the drink but caught herself just in time.

“Uh… Enjoy your drink.” She muttered before turning toward the couple who had just entered. One towered over the other, engaging in pleasant conversation. The sight made Frisk feverishly search for a colleague who could take over, but everyone was caught up with making drinks. It fell on her to take their order. Just her luck.

“HOW EXCITING! MY VERY FIRST TIME IN A COFFEE SHOP. WHAT DO THEY HAVE?”

“probably hot beverages and snacks.”

Frisk wanted to hide under the counter, already regretting stealing his wallet. It was so typical of the world to play her like that.

The two skeletons reached her, and only then did Sans recognize her. His expression changed immediately from neutral to nonchalant, but the monster next to him didn’t notice; he was too busy looking at the pastries. A crippling fear of how he would react now that he recognized her started to take over her fleeting thoughts. Despite wishing herself far, far away, she cleared her throat.

“What can I get ya?” She said with a strained voice. There was no way that this would end good.

“AH YES, I WOULD LIKE A HOT BEVERAGE WITH A SIDE OF SPAGHETTI PLEASE.”

The other skeleton was much taller than Sans, almost standing twice Frisk’s height. Or at least that was what it felt like for her. It made her realize that he’d been in multiple of the photos in Sans’ wallet.

She smiled at the tall skeleton, gesturing at the food display.

“Sorry sir, but we only have these food items. What type of hot beverage would you like? We have all kinds of tea, coffee and hot chocolate.”

Sans was eyeing her carefully, his smile impossible to understand. It didn’t seem quite as threatening as she’d imagined, and it made the situation so much worse since she found it hard to predict his next move.

“NO SPAGHETTI? SANS WHY WOULD YOU TAKE ME TO A PLACE THAT DOESN’T SELL PASTA? I HAVE STANDARDS!”

“yeah… sorry paps. hey, why don’t we just go somewhere else.”

“WHY DON’T WE OPEN OUR OWN RESTAURANT! WE SHALL CALL IT… ‘ _THE GREAT PAPYRUS’ ITALIAN PLACE WITH PASTA BUT ALSO SOMETIMES OTHER FOODS_ ’. FABULOUS NAME!”

“sure. sounds cool.”

“YOU! HOT BEVERAGE LADY! WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE OUR FIRST CUSTOMER?”

She blinked in confusion, not quite understanding what was going on. Locking gazes with Sans she nodded with vigor. With the stare he was giving her, it was most likely the only acceptable option.

“I-I’d love to! The name just rolls off your tongue.” She followed it up with an awkward laugh. This needed to end immediately. Would someone please just end her misery?

“RIGHT! I SHALL COME GET YOU WHEN MY FAR SUPERIOR RESTAURANT IS IN ORDER. COME ON SANS, LET’S GO FIND SOMEWHERE TO PLACE MY MASTERPIECE.” The skeleton pivoted on his heel, not checking to see if Sans followed. With great strides he made his way to the door and exited. Sans hadn’t moved a muscle, and he didn’t seem to care much about catching up to his friend. Instead he looked up at the menu with his hands in his pockets, appearing the part of a laid-back dude just brainstorming what new coffee to try. Time passed, probably about a dozen seconds, before Frisk couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Can I get you anything?” She hissed, a weird smile curling around her lips. This was just not her day, was it? All customers had been such asses to her the entire time.

Sans was unphased by her nervousness, instead leaning with his arms on the counter.

“yeah. i’d like my wallet back pal.” However weird her smile must had been, it blanched in comparison to his nerve-shattering collection of teeth. His face was contorted in outrage and judging by the way everything around them seemed to disappear in darkness she was in deep shit. It had been ridiculous to challenge a monster, even one far from Mt. Ebott. She hadn’t a clue about his powers. She could had been standing in front of a boss monster – the strongest type of monsters – and she wouldn’t even know. That also seemed to scare her quite a bit. Being near an unpredictable magic-user.

Looking for help in the shape of her colleagues proved unfruitful as they were frozen in that weird darkness. It wasn’t as if they were hurt or that they were bound to their spot by the blackness. Outside the store the entire world had stopped as if this skeleton had snapped his fingers and made time obey him like a trained dog. While she had always favored dog-lovers in her dating life it certainly didn’t include the likes of _him_.

And then Sans broke out into hearty laughter. The sound reverberated from the walls and pushed the wheels of time into movement again.

“hehehe i’m just kidding with ya. gimme your most complicated order.” As if turned by a switch his demeanor changed from terrifying to joking. The shift felt like an ice bucket over her head, leaving her speechless. Was he angry or not? Did that mean she could keep his wallet?

“wait i saw a rebbit post about this, howsabout a venti seven pump vanilla soy twelve scoop matcha 180-degree green tea latte with no foam?” Frisk had trouble finding her voice, but she finally forced herself to punch in the order on the register.

“That’ll… Uh, that’ll be 60G.” She stammered out, blinking away her disorientation and also forgetting to charge him extra for being a douchebag. He’d been in there for only a handspan of minutes and had already managed to rip her out of her rhythm.

Apparently he found it to be an appropriate time to talk about their encounter as she moved around preparing his drink.

“i have to admit that you’re good at what ya do. buddy ya had me fooled for a minute back there. say, ya wouldn’t happen to be in between jobs, would ya? sorry for being blunt but i’m not known for being chatty.” He laughed in a deep rumble of the kind that made you sleepy as a kid, but the effect it had on her then was different. It was a warm sound. Her stomach did a weird flip that sent her thoughts whirling, set her cheeks ablaze and made her grateful for having her back turned on him. It also made her question her choice in men.

“Nope. I’m loyal to being treated as a dirtbag on the regular at the local coffeeshop, can’t you see? Why would I wanna trade that for anything else.”

“dunno. maybe ‘cause ya could use your talent for something more suitable.” Her back was still a barrier between them, but she could practically feel the wink he just sent her way. The crimson on her cheeks deepened greatly.

_Alright that’s it, I just have to get through this order and I’ll never see him again. I don’t care if I have to move, anywhere is better without him._

The tea was almost ready and her silence had only made Sans ever the more curious. She was happy for his lack of eyebrows when she turned around with it in her hands, since he most likely would have arched one in a very provocative way. It was all she could do to not inquire more about this job offer.

“One green tea for Sans.” She said, being careful not to look him in the eyes. If they made eye contact she was pretty sure that she’d be persuaded by the light in them to ask. The cocksure grin blossoming on his face was enough evidence of him knowing that too.

“i getcha. i really do pal. what’s not to like about a minimum-wage job in a rundown shop? but gimme a call if ya change your mind alright? the job is in the big league. just think about it for a bit.” He took a napkin and nodded towards the pen on her side of the counter. She hesitantly gave it to him and watched in a mix of excitement and horror as he scribbled down a number.

Their moment was interrupted when the tall skeleton from before barged in wearing a disapproving look. Multiple customers in the shop turned around to see what the fuss was about, gossiping amongst themselves.

“SANS! ARE YOU STILL ORDERING A BEVERAGE FROM THIS LADY?” Sans were unphased by his friends’ screaming, sliding the napkin over to Frisk like nothing was out of the ordinary.

_Is the other skeleton in on this job too?_

“nah, i’m done now.” He grabbed the tea from her hands. The moment before turning away they locked gazes – despite the many warnings in her head – and left Frisk cursing under her breath. It really didn’t matter what she’d thought before, the pure challenge in his eyes was enough to push her over the edge.

“GOOD. THAT MEANS WE CAN LOOK FOR RESTAURANTS NOW.”

“sure can paps. ya can satisfy your _hunger_ for success.” The other skeleton groaned and accompanied it with a facepalm. Then they left without another word or look.

Long after his absence presented itself, she could feel the lingering feeling of his hands against hers. There was nothing she would rather do than think about that job offer, but one of her colleagues – the day-to-day head – trotted over with a sour look on their face.

“The guy you just served left without paying. See me after work.”


	2. Kidnapped?

Despite her futile attempts to convince herself that the trashcan was the right place for the napkin, it somehow ended up in her pocket instead. She swore on her life to the voice in the back of her mind that Sans must had used his magic to put it there, because _under no circumstance_ would she even _consider_ taking him up on his potential job offer. For crying out loud, she’d just met the guy!

So she called him.

Alright, in her defense she at least waited until the day after with doing so – she had standards – but something just seemed so attractive about the way he’d offered her the job. Maybe it was the way he stopped himself from killing her or forcing her to return his wallet. That was somewhat attractive, she found. Even if he had threatened her to return the wallet, ( _or else!_ ), it wouldn’t had mattered much. Seriously, everything was better than working at Starbuns except maybe working as a waitress. She’d already tried that, and it still amazed her how much of a douchebag people could be. It made the customers at Starbuns look great by comparison.

Metaphorically, since the people in here was far from supermodels. When it all came down to it this was a café for those on a budget who wanted to seem rich to everybody else. It was filled to the brim with young men and woman who worked 9-5 jobs on minimum wage or a bit more on the daily. Nothing here was as “luxurious” or as “iconic” as they wanted it to seem on their platforms.

Frisk felt weird to be on the other side of the counter when she ordered her hot cocoa with a fancy name. Yet, if everything went according to plan she would never be back behind it again, and the thought didn’t sadden her in the least; in fact her self-control had to kick in so she wouldn’t jump up and down in excitement. There was something powerful about being a customer and not the barista this time around, so when she sat down in the corner of the café it was with a boost of newfound confidence that stealing never came near giving her. This was different from the rush she gained out in the streets.

The cocoa sucked. Whoever made it was probably new or just didn’t know how to properly make a basic hot chocolate, but she sighed instead of complaining to the young guy running around like crazy to make drinks and heat paninis. He looked like he was alone on the job today, so Frisk decided to cut him some slack and reigned her irritation in. Besides – it wasn’t her own cash she’d paid with anyway so it didn’t really matter if it was a waste of money. She’d used the card from Sans’ wallet, as one of them was of a type that required no number code to use – it had a reading chip.

 _That was definitely his own fault though_ , she’d thought when she put it back into his wallet – which she so graciously had brought as a peace offering.

“One venti 7 pump vanilla soy 12 scoop matcha 180-degree green tea latte with no foam!” The barista yelled out over the masses of people in the coffeeshop. He was pretty stressed, based on the way tufts of his brown hair was sticking to his forehead and how his voice went a pitch higher than it should.

Frisk looked out over the tip of her mug suddenly certain it was _his_ order. While she hadn’t seen him come in she had no doubt he was here. Sans seemed like the type of guy to take a joke further than it was intended. If only she had known just how much he enjoyed his jokes. Sitting in the dark green armchair was cozy, up until the point where it _wasn’t_.

As sneaky as possible she tried to spot where the skeleton could be, but despite keeping a close eye on the figure taking the tea, she lost him in the masses of customers waiting to order on his way down. A woman who decided it was a good idea to bring a baby carriage inside concealed his movements for just a second, and then he vanished. He was just… _gone_.

It took the focus away from her side of the shop where he had walked away from, and instead moved it to the front just around the entrance.

_Where the hell did he go? Is he a type of monster who can turn invisible?_

_Aw great, I lost sight of my ticket out of this sickening place!_

That was when somebody placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, a touch that made her jump at least half her height from the seat, and sent her cocoa crashing down on the floor. She cringed, waiting for the breaking of ceramic, but it never came. Instead of breaking it was glowing blue barely an inch from the floor. But it stayed floating as Frisk turned around, her face a storm cloud.

“What the fu-“ She started, the thought of Sans brushed away with the flipping of her hair.

Only it immediately returned when she recognized who the hand belonged to. “Sans! You almost made me drop my mug, you big idiot. _Look!_ ” With thunder striking behind her eyes, she pointed to the cup still enveloped in a blue light as if he had murdered a child a two.

“uh-“ She continued with fury, the blue light disappearing the instant where her hands safely cupped her cocoa. They were a protective barrier between the skeleton and the mug.

“Would it absolutely _kill you_ to walk up to me like a normal person and say hello? Or do you have to be so melodramatic, that it basically borders on a character from Shakespeare?”

Despite her shock and the anger it caused Sans only smiled in response. There was something hidden in his expression that she couldn’t place quite yet, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

He motioned for her to follow before speaking.

“c’mon, we have to get moving. the others are already there.”

“Already where?” She grumbled, her hands carefully assessing the state of her cocoa. None had spilled on the floor, and a taste test proved it still sucked. Everything was as it should be.

Sans moved so he was in front of her and she couldn’t help looking up at him, only hiding her excitement by a hair. Luckily her acting had always been alright, otherwise she might had squealed at the very thought of getting away from Starbuns.

“already at the place where we’re meeting, of course. if we leave now, we’ll be there… well, now.”

“Now? What do you plan on doing, teleporting or something?” She joked, although rising from the armchair and gathering her stuff up, (which did not include the hot chocolate she had fought so hardly for to drink in peace, but it didn’t matter as she was almost done anyway). The skeleton just grinned widely as he offered her his left arm. The act made him seem so gentlemanly that she had to accept. He had to be rewarded for good behavior; after all he had a habit of startling her when she had let her guard down. Maybe he was changing for the better and seeing the light of being a genuinely nice person.

Just thinking about this obvious thief laying down his jacket on the ground for her made her smile, while Sans kept going out of the shop and around a corner of the street. Oh, how she could just picture this skeleton steal a bouquet for her on a trip to the market–

Wait. What was she doing? She had literally met this man yesterday, so why was her mind doing this weird scenario thing?

_But he would look so good wearing a tuxedo and sharing a glass of champagne with me in our parlor. Imagine the wealth around us as I glided from the lounge to our outdoor pool – In Hawaii! – or maybe somewhere European would be best…_

A perfect version of an Italian castle was starting to blur out New Jackhill’s streets. Instead the ground turned to soft grass beneath her feet, and she looked up happily at the warm sun from a clear sky. The castle would be old, but not completely ruined. There would be a gigantic park around it, stretching for miles and miles and miles and miles and–

**_m i l e s . . ._ **

****

It was a world made exactly for her. A dream land where she could spend the rest of her days without ever needing anything else. She sighed satisfactory. Yeah. She could get used to living here. With her castle and warm sun and soft grass and blue sky and a park stretching for miles and miles and miles and miles and–

**_M I L E S . . ._ **

****

Suddenly New Jackhill had completely faded from her mind and sight. Frisk was too busy blacking out to notice.

* * *

God. She really had to stop drinking all the booze in her minibar at once. She got the same killer-headache every time! The pounding in it felt even worse now than ever before though, like her head had gotten its own beating heart with barbed wire around it. She let out a pained groan, already determined to use the last aspirins in her cupboard for this exact reason.

“Ow.” She let out, more for herself than the walls of her apartment. Yet she still hadn’t opened her eyes and therefore hadn’t seen where she _actually_ was. Because it wasn’t at her apartment.

From beyond the black wall of nothingness and pain she could hear some rustling after she’d talked, and that – more than the thought of aspirins – was what finally made her try to take in the rough light of the world. It took a moment.

She was staring right into the face of a white, fuzzy goat with intelligent eyes of green. So she did what any sensible person would do: she screamed.

“AAAHHHH!” Despite her exploding head, she scrambled into a sitting position, only now realizing that she was in a strange bed. She backed into a wall in her attempt to put as much distance between them as possible; at the contact with the wall spikes of pain erupted in her head.

“AAAAHHH!” The creature screamed right back at her, also scrambling backwards and away from her as quickly as she had. They then took turns pointing accusingly at each other, faces marked with deathly terror.

“Who are you!” She screamed at the fuzzy goat, trying to put two and two together.

“Stop screaming!” They screamed as an answer, before looking over a shoulder where a wooden door was.

“Oh no you don’t!” Frisk immediately jumped from the bed, tackling the monster as it tried for the door. “Tell me where I am or there’ll be consequences Goat Boy!” She winced in pain at the sudden movement, but it had to be done.

She’d landed on his back, sitting askew on it, pinning down his arms with her hands. Had she had time for it, she’d marvel over the fuzziness of his fur. It was _so_ soft!

“Get off me!” He wriggled aggressively, managing to ease the weight a little. “DAD! SANS! SHE’S GONE CRAZY!”

“No I haven’t! _You_ kidnapped _me_ you sick–“ Before she could finish, the door broke open with two monsters standing in the doorway. Sans was the first, and presumably the second one was this Goat’s father – they shared monster species at least, that much was for sure. The Father Goat was standing as tall as Sans’ skeleton friend had, but no matter how much he could had tried that skeleton would never be as intimidating as this creature. He was a white giant with horns as sharp and long as only seen in stories – his claws not unlike those of a bear – but the scariest part about him was his magic.

Around him, like small pits of inferno, were fireballs dancing menacingly. Frisk decided not to pin this monster’s child down anyway, which was probably the best decision she’d taken since stealing Sans’ wallet. The action made the fire disappear, and Frisk wished she’d gone with it.

Just where the hell had they brought her? And how the _fuck_ – she wasn’t the type to flaunt that word around, but she felt like this situation was worthy of such a word – had she let herself get caught this badly? “ _Never trust strangers_ ” was her motto. “ _You’re better off alone_ ” was her bread and water.

Oh yeah, for the first time in her life she’d thoroughly fucked up. Really, _really_ fucked up. With a big f. A big, fat, obese, on-the-verge-of-dying _f_. The realization made her eyes sting, although she still grasped for a small hope that this was only a misunderstanding and that it had nothing to do with Sans.

“What is going on?” The Goat Father asked while he helped his son to his feet again. Sans was moving towards her, creating a somewhat comforting barrier between her and the threat of fireballs.

“Stay away.” She had to force the words out of her mouth, but they made him stop on the spot. They were all looking at her now, but none of them were moving. With this opportunity to take in the room she found herself in a basic bedroom not consisting of much. The bed she’d been in had a frame and mattress in white, and a crumbled bedsheet lying over an unused duvet. It was harder to make out with her vision thumping along with her heartbeat and headache.

_I’d been laying on it and not in it, then._

For as long as she’d lived, she couldn’t remember being in a closed-off bedroom even once. At least not one she’d slept in – she’d only slept in her bedroom-dining-living-room combo, and before that it’d been the streets or a 1-room apartment. Never actually an _entire_ room for just sleeping. She could only imagine what it’d feel like to wake up in a bed and not have to look at the dishes from her dinner the night before. That caused her to think about what it would feel like to wake up in this room every morning, not because she wanted to stay kidnapped but merely because she liked the thought of having a bedroom, and she ended up scrutinizing every detail of it. Nobody moved an inch as she did, but she couldn’t tell if it was out of respect or fear.

The room was big. Maybe not mansion big, but it was bigger than she’d ever been used to. Perhaps 12 by 9 feet or so, she’d guess by how it housed a dresser with a decorated mirror above it and the single bed with ease. The problem came with the huge goat monster taking up space.

When the silence had stretched for longer than was comfortable, The Goat Boy was the first to speak up, obviously still shaken by Frisk’s pounce.

“So, uhm, I’m Asriel. This is my dad – Asgore – and you’ve already met Sans, right?” Asriel was also the first to move when he scratched his head awkwardly. “Are you okay? You were blacked out when you arrived here with Sans, you know.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Yeah I’m _aware_ of that thank you very much – gee, wonder why I was out cold the minute I went somewhere with _you_!” At the finger pointing accusingly at him, Sans put up his hand in a show of surrender.

“i dunno why ya blacked out, pal. i was just walking, and then you suddenly fell, so i had to catch you. promise i had nothing to do with your blackout, sleeping beauty.”

“What happened to me was obviously magic, don’t even try! I was fine until you showed up and made me drop my chocolate!” Then she scoffed and took a step closer to the skeleton, despite the voice in the back of her mind telling her not to anger Sans or Asgore. They didn’t seem like the guys she wanted to get into trouble with, but she refused to back down like the trapped mouse she was. “I’ll even bet that you poisoned my chocolate with your magic,” she argued, briefly forgetting how the cocoa had tasted the exact same after Sans had saved it.

“even if i wanted, i wouldn’t be able to do that with my magic. and – really kid – what would i gain from kidnapping _you_? not money.” He let out a small amused laugh that only infuriated her further.

“But if you didn’t make me black out, who the hell did?”

“how should i know? it’s not like i monitor you in my spare time.”

But Frisk couldn’t piece it together no matter how hard she tried. Come to think of it she wanted to believe him so badly, but the only thing that seemed possible was that he somehow had something to do with this. Maybe he was playing innocent to trick her into a false sense of security before he raped and killed her or something. That sounded more likely than the fact that she just suddenly dropped to the ground without reason.

“Alright, then tell me what happened.” She demanded, trying to mask the doubt threatening to show on her face. Asgore slowly led his son out of the room, as if not to provoke her by any sudden moves, which left her and Sans all alone with the splitting pain growing in her head.

_Should I be scared right now, or is he speaking the truth? It’s just as likely that he drugged me or something._

“buddy sit down, you look like you’re about to rip my lungs out. relax.” He gestured towards the bed she’d left, and she noticed then how tense her posture was. Sitting on the bed she forced her shoulders to relax a bit, at which Sans looked relieved to see. Had she really looked that crazy?

“So? I’m sitting. What happened?” He scratched the back of his skull as he recalled.

“see, we were walking down that street – right – and then you just got this faraway look with a cute smile on your face, like you were thinking about the greatest thing that ever happened to ya.”

“And?” She remembered. She’d been thinking about that castle for some weird reason – the one with the garden that never ended.

“and you fell.”

“That’s it?” Her voice was a pitch higher than normal.

“uh, then i brought you back here? and ya woke up.” The look in his eyes when he caught her gaze was searching, but he must had found something particular, since his continuation was more joking than before. “and then you attacked asriel who had babysitting duty.” His wink was utterly amused.

“Babysitting duty? I can take care of myself.”

“sure ya can buddy. then how come you fainted in the middle of the street?” The smile on his face was kin to the one she’d seen on him when they stumbled onto each other, that shit-eating grin that would probably haunt her dreams forever.

“Well I don’t know, you tell me! Seems kinda shady that this happens the second I agree on your job offer, or am I actually just going crazy here?”

“definitely the crazy thing.” She scoffed at that, pushing herself off the bed and away from him. It caused him to continue. “i’m still offering you that job, but you have to listen to me when i tell ya that i did _not_ cause this, and i don’t know who did either. maybe it’s just some medical thing, right? this happen often?”

“Try never!” She exclaims, peeking at his figure through the mirror. “Sorry for thinking this, but doesn’t it appear majorly convenient that this happens now?”

“so… you don’t want the job?” At that she pivots on her heel, her eyes squinting at the skeleton in his _stupid_ blue parka. It was beyond her why anyone would wear that inside, not to say wearing it at all. But maybe that was just her irritation speaking, it hadn’t bothered her much before now.

_Of course I want the job dumbass, I just don’t want it from someone who doesn’t hesitate to drug my chocolate somehow!_

“If you can prove that you had nothing to do with my incident, then fine.” In a show of defiance, she crossed her arms, desperate to keep her face in front of him. It was just hard when he looked at her like she was something strange yet interesting whom he wanted to know more about, because her body heated up several degrees when he was around for some reason. His facial expression hinted towards him knowing that exact same thing too.

What. A. Douche.

Some would had sighed in that situation. Some would send her out the door, not wanting to get more involved in her dramatic antics. Some would probably even had preferred to kill her over doing the thing he was doing that moment.

He was smiling broadly, walking towards her with that jesting glint to his eyes. Something the devil might as well had made.

“yeah okay. will you calm down if i do?” All he had to do was taking another step forward and he would be able to touch her – or the opposite. The thought made her shiver. Sans still had that facial expression that she found difficult to read. Was he planning to kidnap her forever? Was he taking this whole thing as a joke? Did he set this all up and found a way to “prove” he was innocent so she’d trust him and then she’d end up in a ditch, killed, with no one to care or look for her? Also, was it getting hot in there or was it just her?

“hey. seriously, will ya calm down a bit? we need you for this job. i just can’t explain it to you if you don’t give me a chance alright? let me take you to alphys, she’ll do some tests on you to check your bloodstream for any drugs. does that sound good?” He offered, slowly extending a hand to her. After a lot of thought she decided to at least give him a chance, but that might just be her body doing the talking instead of her logical mind.


	3. Doctor Alphys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow okay, so I know that this is awfully shorter than usual, but I have 2 papers due to the end of the week. Hope you don't mind, if somebody even reads this lol

Nevertheless she ended up in a sort of medical center that lay in a secluded area of the house, (or building?), she was in, before much time had passed. Sans had led her with a gentle grip on her elbow through hallway after hallway, which all had the same boring interior design. The wooden floor was bare, the walls a sterile white, although there was an occasional table with a potted plant to spice things up.

The place was bigger than she had anticipated, but she didn’t think it to be a mansion per say. She hated to be that guy, but her gut feeling told her she was somewhere hidden, like in an abandoned house or building. It could be the fact that she was literally in the midst of a crime ring of sorts, but what really made her think it was the windows, which were for the most part blocked off with wooden planks or hidden by curtains. Certainly, that screamed “ _We’re hiding from the authorities!_ ” if nothing else.

When they arrived where Alphys was working on a device foreign to Frisk, Sans cleared his throat to announce their presence. If he hadn’t Alphys probably wouldn’t had noticed with the way she was concentrating entirely on the piece of metal in her clawed hands.

The medical center was exactly what she’d expected. Tiles were pressed together tightly as solid flooring, the walls were white concrete so she tried not to scratch herself on it, and it looked every bit the office a monster like Alphys would belong in. She based that on the white lab coat and round glasses she wore, which gave off the best doctor vibe Frisk had ever seen.

She’d also never seen a doctor in person.

To the far end of the room was placed an examination table with a cluttered metal table accompanying its side. Now, Frisk was no surgeon, or in the very least experienced in medics, but she went out on a limb and guessed that the tools on that table were of the medical kind. Some looked like weird scissors, others were akin to the pincers she’d seen in an old mechanics’ warehouse. Needles, syringes and some sort of fabric, (gauze pads? Was that what they were called?), were also housed on that table.

Opposite the medical side of the room, Alphys sat on a chair with a big tail sticking out between the seat and back. She was a yellow lizard of sorts, but smaller than Sans and much fuller than him. Then again that didn’t take much as he was a skeleton. Without looking up, she put up a finger to signal that she’d be right there while her right hand was turning the device.

“Sorry just a moment, I almost got it!” She said, sounding very focused and firm. Sans didn’t bother waiting in the doorway, instead he walked up to a table with two chairs that lay right beside the entrance. A mug with coffee sat there, but no steam was coming off it.

 _It might’ve been there for some time_. She guessed, sitting down next to Sans. Newspapers with various articles was on the table too, and since they had to wait Frisk decided to look through them.

“ _Football Star Thrown Off Team”, “President Speaks Up About Mt. Ebott And Monsters”,_ “ _The Grand Auction: Hottest Event Seen In Decades?_ ”, “ _Rat Found In Popular Restaurant”_.

The president and Frisk didn’t get along. Not because she knew him personally, but she just wasn’t a fan of his constant whimpering over monsters, fugitives and the poor. Frisk had met a nice monster before, she strongly felt that everyone should be helped if possible and she hated how he made the poor poorer and the rich richer. That article was quick to get on her nerves, so she moved on to the one about the newly created Grand Auction. While better than the first, it bored her to death to read about a fancy happening she would never be invited to. Besides, she had a feeling that all media would be covering that story the next 3 months up until the auction and some time after. She’d have plenty of time to read about it in the future.

“i never actually caught your name.” Sans stated out of nowhere. When she moved her gaze to him, she saw the curious look she was receiving. She couldn’t help but smile a bit at the suddenness of everything, stuff had moved so quickly that she hadn’t even thought of giving him her name.

“It’s Frisk.” The nod he gave her was lazy, but the eyes gave away his intention. He was soaking in her figure and it made her tremble ever so slightly.

“you probably already know my name but i’m sans. sans the skeleton.”

“Yeah, checked your wallet.” She admitted. Had he found it? She’d kept it in her purse, but it wasn’t around her shoulder anymore. Maybe he had.

“thought so. thanks for only buying for a small amount on my credit card by the way pal.” Her cheeks flushed slightly. His smile was still relaxed so Frisk hoped that it meant he wasn’t mad for using his money.

“Yeah, well, uh–“

“by the way i think you have an alcohol and shopping problem.”

“Look–“

“it’s cool. alcohol is great sometimes, and is there ever a time where you don’t need a new pair of shoes? or 3 pairs.”

“It could’ve been worse–“

“the starbuns order i don’t get though. why use that much g on a cocoa?”

“Sans I’m sorry but I didn’t think–“

“that you’d accept the job offer?”

“A bit… Also, the card stopped me from using too much!”

“it demands the pin code after excessive use.”

“Alright I didn’t buy _that_ much on your damn card!” She scoffed, narrowing her eyes at him. She’d bought 3 pairs of shoes, a new jacket, groceries, a few bottles of vodka and rum and then that horrible hot chocolate from Starbuns.

Sans just rumbled with low laughter. His eye sockets narrowed like Frisk’s own eyes.

“i’m not accusing you. you stole that fair and square. it was my own fault that i let you get…” Bolts of heat travelled from the spot on her thigh he touched all the way to her red cheeks. “–so close to me.”

In that moment she forgot how to speak properly. Sweat broke out on her forehead, so she turned away from him to cut their connection at once.

Looking at the wall helped cool her body down. The white concrete was unmoving and she needed to be like that. Until she was certain that Sans had absolutely nothing to do with her blackout Frisk forced herself to remain cautious.

But his hand didn’t move away, and the only reason he didn’t pursue this further was most likely Alphys’ voice.

“All done!”

Frisk flinched in surprise, but she tried to mask it by turning around immediately. If Sans noticed or not she couldn’t had said, since his expression had gone from sensual to neutral. Alphys placed the device on one of many shelves with clutter items and other weird inventions before she walked over. The moment she laid her gaze on Frisk the doctor started stuttering.

“U-uh, Sans you d-didn’t mention–“ Eyes big as teacups, the lizard monster started tapping her feet nervously. She raked Frisk’s figure for anything dangerous or in the least threatening, but Sans broke in before she could had gotten ahead of herself.

“this is frisk. she’ll be on the next project with us.” Frisk smiled gently. With the way Alphys had turned scared of her, she decided not to stand up when she offered her hand in greeting. Sitting down balanced their height difference a bit.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” She started, waiting for her to take her hand. The woman took it with obvious care. “I like your, uh… lab? Medical center?”

That earned a shy smile from Alphys.

“It’s a m-medical center. My l-lab is back at h-home…” Her twiddling thumbs took away some of the attention on her face, but it didn’t bother Frisk in the least. She was more concerned with getting Alphys to trust her – or in the very least leave the nervousness behind. So Frisk nodded, like having a lab in your home was perfectly normal. Really, she was just trying to make Alphys see her as a chill person.

“Well you must spend a lot of time in here, right? Did you make all of that?” Despite blushing profoundly, she practically beamed. Her next sentence was gaining speed by the second.

“I-I did! I sometimes get new ideas that won’t leave my head and then I stay in here for days trying to make it but then I fail so I have to take a break and then I go back to work and realize I got my calculations wrong so I have to start over again and then when I finally get it right I double check and if it’s okay then I show it to Undyne, she’smygirlfriendbytheway, and then I put it up on the shelf so I can admire–“

“you should take a breath.” Sans interrupted, slowly extending a hand to her shoulder. Frisk got the impression that this happened a lot. “you’re rambling again.”

The breath she took was long and shaky, as if every part of her body were fighting not to start rambling again. With a swift push of her finger she corrected her glasses.

“S-sorry… It happens when I-I get excited…”

“Oh, it’s fine. Really, I like hearing people talk about stuff they love. Don’t worry about it doc.” Frisk answered, making sure to smile radiantly. Judging by the way Alphys blushed anew and didn’t start twirling her fingers Frisk took it as a success. “But not to break in or anything, but we came because I’m concerned that I was drugged or something. On my way here I blacked out in a very weird way, and I have to make sure.”

Alphys looked terrified, but if it was because of the drugging as a whole or because they might have something to do with it, she wasn’t sure.

“A-are you okay? Sans didn’t y-you take precautions?” Her accusation sent Sans into defense mode.

“of course i did, but who would be after her? we were at a coffeeshop and no one even came near her spot in the corner.”

Alphys furrowed the skin where her eyebrows would had been.

“Then why did she faint?” She said, without stuttering in the least. Her gaze was pointed.

“just check her for any signs of drugs.” He sighed back, trying to change the subject. Alphys smiled at Frisk and trotted over to the examination table. One look at Sans confirmed that – _yes_ – she should indeed follow, so she quickly caught up to doctor Alphys at the other side of the room.

“Y-you can just sit, I’ll get my t-things.” Her tail grazed the examination table and almost made it tip over with Frisk sitting there on it.

“Woah!” She exclaimed, grabbing the edge for better balance. Monsters could be stronger than they appeared, she duly noted to herself.

“Oh! S-sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize, your strength just surprised me is all.” Frisk laughed it off, preparing for the jabbing of a needle. She couldn’t remember being stung with a syringe before, but maybe she’d been so in her very early years of living.

Alphys was quick and effective, it only took a moment for her to get the blood sample she needed. The insecure side of her that she’d shown when she first saw Frisk wasn’t nearly as bad as now, when she was in her element. It was kind of cute. Her confidence made Frisk live through the trauma that the needle created.

“I’ll have it ready tomorrow.” She said, clearly too focused on taking the sample away to stutter.

“Thank you doctor Alphys.” Frisk jumped down and walked over to the table where Sans had stayed. He didn’t even open his jaw to speak, yet words came out anyway. It seemed he used magic to speak.

“look we really need your help, and it’s urgent.” He stepped forward to meet her. The twinkle in his eyes pointed towards it being true. Honestly, she didn’t doubt that they needed her, why else would he recruit a complete stranger from the street?

“you heard of wireless corp?”

“Isn’t that the popular computer firm that was created recently?”

“it is. and we’re hitting it.”

“That sounds boring.” Frisk commentated, her smile turned to a pout. She’d expected something big, like maybe the Grand Auction, or something fancy. Then again, this heist was urgent, and the auction wasn’t until 3 months from now. Sans rolled his eyes at that, but otherwise pretended like he hadn’t heard it.

“michael ström is the ceo behind the scenes, and word is some heavy money laundering is taking place there. we’re setting them up so the police catch him and then we’re off with the real money.”

“Michael Ström? He’s the minister of state for immigration, not a CEO of a computer company. What are you talking about?”

“i said behind the scenes, weren’t ya listening?”

“Yes but–“

“this isn’t a joke to us. if you’re gonna be ready for this heist then you need to start now. we can’t wait for the blood sample to come back.”

Answering took some time. She just stood there, grinding her head gears for some clarity. Well, she’d already come so far, and it made turning back and going home seem like giving up. It was either this job offer with a lot of potential, or her boring part-time job back at Starbuns.

Sans gave her space while she mulled it over. He stood perfectly still as he awaited her decision but didn’t try to nudge her in the right direction.

“What would my job be exactly?” She pulled the words out slowly as if they would had been less dangerous that way. Either way they started her on a road to something bigger than herself.

“your job? oh kiddo, you better sit down for this.”


	4. Don't Know how to Flirt?

At first she was certain that he was raving mad. Surely, he hadn’t intended to say what he had just said, because that type of heist would never succeed. Frisk might had had several years of training but there was no way that she could pull _that_ off. Absolutely no way in hell.

“Are you out of your mind?!” She yelled, yanking Alphys out of her focused state and causing her to almost drop the project in her hands. In her fumble to save it she knocked over her chair.

Sans helped his friend on autopilot, still glancing back at Frisk as she bulldozed forward with her words.

“sorry alphys, i’ll take her outside.” Frisk was too wrapped up in her own sudden self-doubt, that she forgot to apologize to Alphys for her outburst.

“To do that with a complete stranger is one thing, but you’re talking about seducing a famous politician!” Sans gave her a brief look while Alphys slowly sat back on the chair. “I will do many things, but this is just impossible.” Her wild gestures drew Sans’ gaze back when he eyed Alphys as well with the project for any signs of injuries.

“let’s go before you cause the doc to have a heart attack,” he joked, patted Alphys on the back, and left the room with a firm grip on Frisk’s upper arm. The motion made her want to dig in her heels but the slight irritation behind his eyes cautioned her not to. She listened to her inner voice for once.

“Look I want a job, but I can’t do _that_!”

“what makes this so special? dunno how to flirt sweetheart?” His voice, especially the last part, was dripping with amusement. Frisk scoffed.

“Of course I do, but not with the likes of him. If something goes wrong, I’m done for, and one simple misstep can be the end of me.” Frisk thought it was a reasonable argument not to go through with it, however Sans didn’t quite have the same opinion. He continued back to the room she had woken up in, where he kept her locked in by standing in the doorway. It wasn’t in a threatening way, but Frisk had seen that look of patient irritation in the faces of many waitresses. Hell, she’d had that same expression numerous times herself. Odds were he was running out of options if she didn’t agree to the job offer, a thought that made her self-esteem go up a bit higher. It was kind of flattering that he needed her this badly.

His blue parka was open enough for her to see a stain on the bottom right of his white t-shirt. It had a yellowish tint to it, and Frisk was reminded of the green tea he had held when she fell. Had he really scrambled to catch her and in the effort dropped his drink? When you plan to drug someone and you know they’ll black out, you don’t bother to catch them. You definitely don’t waste your own drink trying to save them from hitting the ground.

_So maybe he’s not lying. Maybe this whole episode was just random and happened at a bad time._

That certainly helped settle her stomach. While he might be a criminal it didn’t necessarily mean that he was a bad guy, Frisk was a pocket thief on a regular basis but that didn’t make her a villain. She sighed.

“What?” She wanted him to say what he was holding back. She could see it in his eyes that there was something unsaid on his part.

Finally Sans stepped forward with a natural grin on his face, the irritation long gone.

“if ya want we can practice a bit for the job.” He offered with a casual shrug. Heat gathered in her cheeks, but she tried to ignore it and stand her ground. It was just immensely hard when all she could think about was him and how close he was standing.

_Let's do a fact check: he caught me when I fell, so he certainly had nothing to do with my fainting episode. Also, he didn't freak out when I stole his wallet or used his money. There's also the fact that he's patient with me and respects my decisions, not to mention the small part of me that likes him. Wait no, that's not a fact!_

She stopped herself. That took a turn she didn’t wish for, so she shook her head for clearance. Sans mistook it for a no, instead of what she intended it to be. His step backwards to give her space left her feeling extremely lonely. If she hadn’t stopped herself, she might had protested. He put his hands in his pockets, staring at the wall behind her.

“I– uh, I mean…” _Words, Frisk. Use them._ “If you really swear by the fact that you didn’t drug me, then let’s go through with this. I’ll try my best, and you’ll help me so I don’t get caught.” At that his smile returned, more brilliant than ever, and his eye lights glittered. The look they exchanged made Frisk lose her breath in an instant. Sans caught up on that too, like he had caught up on her interest in the job, and probably every little detail there was to find about her appearance.

Only after the thought crossed her mind, did she realize what that meant. Even if she was confused about his attention to every detail of her, it was brushed aside when he once again stepped so close that she could touch him if she wanted to. And, oh, did she suddenly want to. Helplessly fighting her urge to jump his bones, she composed herself. With a hand on her cocking hip and the other caressing a lock of hair, she decided to play the game. Her lashes lowered so she looked out past a black fan, her smile was sensual and forthcoming, but the best detail was the up-and-down she gave him. Considering the way he laughed in a low rumble, he appreciated it.

“You said I needed to be ready as quickly as possible right?” She whispered, leaning closer but trying not to overdo it right away. She hoped he liked it like that.

He nodded slowly, maintaining eye contact as her hands glided over his white shirt, hungrily feeling the bones underneath. It was weird at first, but despite it she smiled. When had her life ever been normal, right?

“it’s very important that you’re prepared for the project. first priority should be training you properly so we avoid any complications.” Just like his laugh, his voice was low and even a bit gruff. Frisk took in a sharp breath at the jolt of butterflies it sent to her stomach. She was getting more and more excited by the second, and this was on the cost of her sanity.

“Then let’s get started.”

Sans wasn’t the tallest monster she’d seen, but he _was_ taller than Frisk. Or, that was what Frisk told herself when she thought about kissing his teeth. Maybe not taller, but if not that, then they were at least the same height. She thanked her parents for being short.

“sweetheart i’ve already started.” He whispered. Frisk noticed how she was standing in front of the bed, instead of in the middle of the room where she had been before. He had backed her into it without her knowing. She smiled.

Her lips were soft against his teeth, when she kissed him. It didn’t take long for him to open his jaw and let out a blue tongue of magic. At least that was what Frisk expected it to be, since skeletons most likely didn’t have physical tongues. It was wet and hot, licking her sensitive lips until sparks came from its touch. She gasped, shocked at the experience.

But she didn’t back away.

He moaned in between licks, making Frisk wonder if he felt the same sparks.

Neither of them spoke an actual word in the next duration of time. Sans pulled off the light blue sweater she was wearing, not caring where it landed. Frisk pushed off his parka and t-shirt. They continued until Sans was completely naked and Frisk was only wearing her bra and panties. It only then occurred to her that he might find her cheap underwear disgusting. They were black for practical reasons, but that only made the contrast between her olive skin and the underwear clearer in the few holes that were there. One was in the strap around her chest area and there were two in her panties right at the upper seam. Her lack of steady relationships had made it easy to ignore this and spend her money on something more important. Like fun foods or a cool jacket.

Outer appearances were more important than underwear, alright?

She tensed, Sans not the tiniest bit aware of her panic. Well, maybe panic was a strong word. Slight worry might be a better way to express it.

Panic or not, it was forgotten in the moment as he pushed her down on the bed. His intention was clear as glass, causing Frisk to smile slyly. It was her turn to gain the upper hand, she decided. Sleeping with a skeleton was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, and she’d be damned before she let the opportunity pass. It intrigued her, the thought of being with a monster. She wanted to learn about their magic, Mount Ebott and their existence overall. Excellent pillow talk, she figured.

When he loomed over her, both hands on either side of her head, she striked. The smile plastered on her face when he gave out a shocked “ _woah_!” just made her even more confident. Luckily, she’d been correct in her assumption of his light weight, or her cocky move of pushing him under her wouldn’t had worked as well.

His bones felt as normal ones. His eyes didn’t.

As she locked an amused gaze with him, she got truly lost in the black pools for a moment. They were like a lake at midnight, the full moon standing at its tallest. The black water might had seemed dangerous at first, but the reflection of the moon never failed to draw Frisk closer. The two moons glittered in recognition of her thoughts. He’d caught her in the brief second she lost herself in the lake water.

_Don’t go in too deep now, Frisk. Swimming at night improves the risk of drowning._

At once she shivered, impossibly sure that the freezing, black water in his eyes had just been emptied out over her. Sans exploited her loss of control to catch her in a heated kiss yet again.

It lasted a long time, their tongues circling each other in a dance. His breath was warm against her face when they broke apart so she could gather some breath, something she filed in the back of her mind to ask him about afterwards. How could he breathe with no lungs?

With her hair cascading down around his face, she couldn’t help running her fingers down, starting at his upper spine and continuing over his ribs. Her sensual motion, slowly moving to his hip bones, resulted in a blue light coming from where she’d touched. Sans encouraged her further down, moaning in pleasure.

She abided, trial of blue following where her fingers traced his ivory bones. All the thoughts in her head had something to do with the fact that this was just training, nothing more. A way to figure out a person’s turn-ons as quickly as possible.

She strongly ignored the voice that said that by her logic, she’d have to train on multiple people to get better at figuring it out. It didn’t matter right then and there.

 _Sensitive bones,_ _check_. She thought, mentally preparing a list. _Weird, blue light-boner, check._

A pool of blue light – which might had been magic, but Frisk wasn’t certain – gathered slowly in the pelvis-area. It tinted her skin sapphire. Oh, she was definitely liking this so far. In fact she was pretty sure that she hadn’t stopped smiling since…

Well, she couldn’t recall.

Touching his bones delicately was only her first step on her road to seduction, but just before she could go further a voice cut through the haze.

“BROTHER? BROTHER ARE YOU AND THE HUMAN IN THERE?”

They both scrambled away, collecting clothes as they went. Frisk beat a world record in putting on pants, and Sans was curiously quick to get into all of his clothes. While they moved, Frisk thought about the skeleton who accompanied Sans in the coffee shop and who also was in the pictures from his wallet. Maybe the voice belonged to him, which would explain their connection.

“just a second pap, i’ll be right out!” He yelled, handing Frisk her sweater in help.

“WE DO NOT _HAVE_ A SECOND! ASGORE WANTS TO SEE HER IN HIS LAIR!”

_In his lair?_

Hair got in her mouth when she pulled the sweater over her head, causing her to sputter wildly to get it out. With Sans’ helpful hands she managed to escape the hair tangle, and ended up looking as normal as she could be in that moment. Sans had waited for her ready before he would open the door, so her nod sent him going to it. The heart in Frisk’s chest beat furiously because of her panic.

On the other side of the door, Pap waited impatiently, foot tapping the ground. Like the first time she saw him, he was wearing a white shirt with a complementing red tie. His pants were camel-like in color, and the dress shoes black. All in all, he looked particularly put together and professional, contrary to his presumed brother Sans, who wore his blue parka and lazy t-shirt with ease. The grey sweats he had pulled on in an instant were hanging loosely on his bones in a way that made Frisk remember what they were doing just before. Based on the way they were dressed and built – height- and bone thickness-wise – they definitely didn’t appear to be brothers. Had Frisk not heard it firsthand just now, she wouldn’t have guessed unless she based it on monster species.

But she found that to be a bit racist, and she tried to step delicately around these guys.

_What was his name again? Not Pap, was it? I vaguely remember it’s longer, so I’m guessing that's just a nickname. What did he call himself when he talked about that restaurant he wanted to build? Papillon? Papy? Pappa? Something with Pap..._

“FINALLY!” He erupted in exasperation, stomping over to where Frisk stood with a wondering expression. Sans was pushed away by the suddenness of his brother’s movement. When Pap reached her and gently took her by the elbow, Sans eyed both of them carefully. For what reason, Frisk wasn’t aware.

“I’m sorry for making you wait–“ She tried, looking up at the tall guy with pleading eyes. Sans cut her off immediately.

“my fault. i was trying to do some exercises related to the job.” The shrug that followed made it seem like it was no big deal. It was so believable that Frisk doubted whether or not he actually had meant anything serious by catching her off guard and seducing her. Whatever. Like she cared anyway, she didn’t even like him like that.

Still, she felt insulted for some stupid reason.

“EXCUSES, EXCUSES! LET’S GO IMMEDIATELY, THERE’S NO TIME TO LOSE!” Pap announced, already pulling her into the hallway and away. Frisk looked questioningly back at Sans in hope to figure out what was going on, but the same nonchalant shrug from before was his only answer as she stumbled behind the tall skeleton.

Then something clicked in her mind, and she immediately knew what she'd been looking for.

_That's it! His name is Papyrus._


	5. In the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back again!  
> Because I usually write this to get out of important stuff, like studying, my vacation partnered with work made me lazy. This is still a small work of mine, and it hasn't gotten many readers, but I appreciate those of you who come along and read my fic, although I'm just starting to learn.

Based on the way Sans was totally quiet and his brother was hurriedly leading her through the hallways, it was clear to her that Asgore wasn’t the type to wait patiently. Papyrus’ legs were long and his strides likewise, so she had to run behind him to match his already quick pace. Halfway there she realized a lack of steps behind her, and Sans was nowhere to be seen. It made her nervous. He was the link between her and their group. The thought of going in front of Asgore again, the fire controlling giant goat, sparked the primitive instincts buried deep down. They told her to bail out before it was too late, and she got involved in a complicated mess again.

Nonetheless she had no time to do so before her companion stopped in front of a door. He turned around, bent down, and moved his jaw as he spoke. Sans had spoken before without doing so, which made her guess he did it on purpose to perhaps give her a sense of normalcy. She didn’t know. Magic wasn’t her forte.

“HOT BEVERAGE LADY, IN BUT A MOMENT YOU WILL MEET THE MASTERMIND BEHIND OUR PLAN. BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOUR.” She nodded clearly, giving him a serious look. If he wanted professional, dammit he’d get professional. Still, it wasn’t easy to keep up an appearance when all she wanted to do was run away. Maybe she shouldn’t had said yes to Sans, she mused. Had she really said yes to risking her life just for some cash? _Well… A lot of cash._

When Papyrus opened the door and guided her in front of him, she was put on show for the entire room to gawk at. She tried to suppress a nervous gulp, but she was feeling like a deer in headlights. Standing before a room of monsters who had sharp teeth, long claws, swirling horns and intense looks in their eyes would do that to you.

Asgore, Asriel, a giant fish and a robot was staring at her with the uttermost piercing eyes she’d ever seen. They were sitting scattered on two couches and with Asgore in an armchair of vintage appearance, just like the rest of the room. The green drapes that were covering perfectly well windows practically screamed elegance, the coffee table had intricate carvings and the other furniture were covered with details. The room either had to be really old, or really expensive. Or maybe both.

The giant fish was as intimidating as Asgore, although not necessarily because of her physique, but more likely because of the way she was punching her palm with her fist menacingly. She was wearing a black suit with a blue tie, red hair cascading from a ponytail down her back. In addition to the threatening fist, her left eye was covered with an eye patch that you might see in a pirate movie.

Her scales were navy blue, her fins slightly darker with red lines along them. The fins were sticking out at her waist and where ears would be on humans. No welcoming came from her mouth, not even a single word. Her eyes were pretty clear about her opinion on getting Frisk on the team.

The robot was probably the most fabulously dressed out of them all, Pap, the fish and Asgore in their expensive suits included. He was wearing pink strapped heels which were almost covered by his angle-length designer dress. It, too, was the same shade of pink, but much more work had been put into the making of the dress. The dress had a mermaid skirt covered in flower lace, covering all the tight-fitting parts, and continued randomly down towards the bottom. The parts where there were no lace, you could very clearly see his crisscrossed legs.

He screamed snob. His posture, like he expected the room to come for his beck and call, his black hair, partly covering his left eye, and lastly the way he looked at Frisk, like she was beneath him. That really helped her feel more out of place in a room filled with dignified monsters whose piggy banks were larger than hers would ever be. She tried to introduce herself, but her voice was lost in her panic. Seeing monsters wasn’t necessarily a rarity, but this many in a room at once made her feel like newly found prey. Luckily, Asgore took the word before she could embarrass herself.

Like pee her pants.

“Hello again. I hope you are feeling better.” His eyes were warm, forthcoming and friendly. It settled some of her nerves, but what made her feel much better was the skeleton moving from a dark corner in the room to stand right beside Asgore.

_How could he get here that fast? Didn’t he walk the opposite way?_

Sans looked different from the last time she saw him, just moments ago. His outfit had completely changed from homeless guy to entrepreneur, mostly because he was now dressed in the same mandatory suit all the males were wearing. Except the robot, she countered, but he was still dressed to the nines, so she figured that counted as formal attire as well.

“i was just telling them that you’re up to the task.” Sans said, giving her a wink. Seeing someone who she was almost sure wasn’t out to kill her, calmed her further down. Maybe she would just have to stay clear of the fish and the robot. She relaxed her shoulders, that she hadn’t known were tense. With most of her anxiety out of the way, she had to wonder if it was appropriate or not to shake hands with Asgore. They had met before, but back then she wasn’t in such a good mood. Their respective greetings had been quite aggressive.

_Fine, I’ll play nice._

“Good to officially meet you, Mr. …”

She took some steps forward and held out a hand. The room had gone quiet yet again, but this time it felt like everyone held their breath awaiting Asgore’s reaction. Frisk tried not to falter. Especially not with the eye contact. She really needed to seem confident, partly because it fit the job criteria but also because her life probably depended on it.

“Mr. Dreemurr. Please, call me Asgore just like everybody else.”

The chair creaked when Asgore’s weight disappeared. His full height was less intimidating when he smiled warmly and grasped her hand over the coffee table. The hand was fluffy but had claws, and the grip was firm as they shook hands. Frisk could feel all eyes fall upon her, including the yellow eyes belonging to Asgore. She looked into them with determination, ready for the task he’d given her. It tugged at her lips. For the time being she shoved her fears and doubts far down.

“What is your full name?” He asked.

“Yeah, I only go by Frisk, but I guess you can call me Johnson or something as my last name.” He nodded.

Frisk wasn't about to tell them her last name. Who knew what they could do with that kind of information?

“Ms. Johnson, welcome to the team.” His paw squeezed her hand a final time before letting go.

“If I can call you by your name, just do the same with me. Frisk will do.”

The room let out a breath. She was one of them now.

Sans stood beside the armchair wearing an expression as blank as ever. The grin he showed bore no real emotion behind it, he just didn’t have a real choice, being a skeleton and all. His eyes were the best tells of his emotions. They were glittering a bit, but that could just be wishful thinking.

Papyrus came up behind her to pat her head.

“WE ARE A TEAM NOW. YOU MUST FEEL INCREDIBLY LUCKY MS. JOHNSON!”

Frisk met his eyes.

“I do,” she assured him. The tugging at her lips finally turned into a bright smile. “But, please, all of you can call me Frisk. No need for formalities.” The skeleton nodded.

Asgore sat back down. He was leaning back, satisfied with the situation. Sans was still at his right side – a statue keeping watch over the room.

Papyrus’ yank at her sweater to get her attention was probably supposed to be gentle, but she almost stumbled at the force. He didn’t notice.

“IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO MEET THE REST OF THE GROUP. YOU HAVE MET ASGORE, OUR GROUP LEADER, AND HIS SON ASRIEL. SANS IS MOSTLY OUR BURGLAR, WHEREAS I AM A BIT MORE REFINED. I DEAL WITH EXPLOSIVES.”

Now _that_ came as a surprise. She could see him doing finances or selling their thieved goods off, but handling explosives? She berated herself for judging him so quickly. Of course he could create bombs, the guy was part of a guild. Just because he looked innocent it didn’t mean that he would be.

“THIS IS MY TEACHER IN THE ARTS!” He exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the only other female in the room. The intimidating fish monster. “UNDYNE SUPERVISES MY WORK, BUT SHE’S ALSO A VERY GOOD COOK! WHICH SHE ALSO SUPERVISES ME IN. SOMETIMES WE MERGE THE TWO FIELDS TOGETHER TO MAKE EXPLOSION CAKES.” Frisk wasn’t sure if she wanted to know more or not, so she stayed quiet.

“it’s not as dangerous as it sounds, they’re rainbow cakes with candy in the middle.” Sans said so she wouldn’t have to ask.

Undyne, as the fish was called, sat proudly in her suit. Her foot tapped the floor impatiently. From the way that she bore herself, Frisk couldn’t imagine her in a kitchen, fiddling with a delicate souffle or something of the likes. Everything about her screamed elegantly dangerous, like she was the type that belonged in an Italian mafia. And maybe she was. They had to know her from somewhere, right?

“And I’m good with my fists too, so don’t get in my way, squirt!” She hissed.

“Now, now, no need to be like that. She is one of us now.” Asgore berated. Undyne shut up after that, but only to grit her teeth.

Frisk had no idea why she was so hostile. Nothing she’d done had been threatening towards Undyne or the others. Aggressiveness was maybe just one of her traits?

No matter the reason behind it, Frisk chose to nod instead of speaking. Even if both the fish and robot despised her, she knew that at least Sans, Papyrus, Asgore and Asriel were nice. She could handle them when the majority treated her like a person.

“MOST IMPORTANTLY, AND CERTAINLY MOST DASHING, WE HAVE EVERYONE’S BELOVED METTATON!” Papyrus’ voice was filled with adoration when he presented the robot.

Mettaton also appeared less of a snob when he crossed eyes with Pap. The skeleton grabbed the robotic hand he offered and kissed it as best he could. Mettaton let out a melodic laugh that had an echo to it.

“Darling, if anybody here is dashing, it _must_ be you!” He purred to Papyrus. Frisk – ever the genius detective – got the impression that they had something going on.

“STANDING AROUND AND LOOKING GOOD IS HIS SPECIALTY! HE IS VERY GOOD AT CHARMING MONSTERS.”

“Yes, and that’s the problem. I’m not good with humans.” Mettaton gave her a pointed look, sending a clear message. Frisk received it loud and clear. _Don't go near the robot dear..._ “However, make no mistake, I can crush anyone in battle, if I’d like.”

 _Duly noted._ She suppressed a shiver.

“I’m impressed. Mettaton, I must admit you look incredible in that dress,” _yes, stay friendly_ , “I’m happy that someone understands how important it is to look good on the job.”

He looked away and scoffed. She had clearly said something wrong. But, how, she gave him a damn compliment! Making eye contact with Sans gave her no closure whatsoever, but only left her even more confused. What made Undyne and Mettaton so cold towards her?

“Sit. We have a lot to talk about.” Asgore commanded, gesturing to the empty seat beside Asriel. Papyrus moved to sit beside Mettaton, Undyne on the far end of the same couch. Asgore was still flanked by Sans, who looked unbothered by anything at all. Only when Asgore nodded to him, did he sit down next to Frisk.

“Sorry about tackling you,” Frisk told Asriel quietly, “I thought you had kidnapped me or something.”

The goat laughed it off.

“It’s fine. You were just as confused as I was.”

A warm smile couldn’t be helped as his kindness touched her heart. Frisk was sure they’d get along just fine. She was thoroughly sorry for attacking the poor kid, although not as much when she remembered how Asgore had threatened her with fire balls. But – hey – that was in the past now, and she was ready to give them the benefit of the doubt, like they had with her. More important things were at hand, like how she was supposed to fool a politician into thinking she actually liked him. _Why does it always have to be politics._

“It is not that we do not trust you, Frisk, but for everyone’s safety we have decided to keep most of the plan a secret for now. The part you play will be revealed of course, but if you were to get caught…” He trailed off, tellingly.

 _Way to insult my skills that_ you _hired. I escaped one of your people already, and you’re doubting_ my _abilities? It’s-not-that-we-don’t-trust-you my ass! You’re implying I suck at my job._

Asgore cleared his throat, uncomfortable with Frisk’s blank face. She’d removed all emotion on it, just in case some irritation would shine through. He could probably tell that's what had happened.

She didn’t know where the sudden anger came from, unless it was brought by her lingering intimidation of the group. She was one of them right now, but nothing was keeping them from killing her if they found someone better. It all came down to whether or not they could find someone and how good she could handle herself. Both of which were currently in her favor, but the tides could always turn.

Frisk was a good ass-kicker. Not like in the movies, but she’d been in her fair amount of fights. And Sans had been pretty clear on the fact that they were up shit creek if she couldn’t do this. They had been forced to search the streets for a candidate, and if that didn’t scream desperation, she didn’t know what did.

But why were they so desperate? There were plenty humans more skilled than her. She wasn’t naïve. Something was keeping them from hiring a more experienced worker than her.

“We need his keycard for the building,” Asgore started. Everyone’s attention went to him immediately. “That is the part you will play, Frisk.”

She felt the serious folds that her face fell into, as she tried to dismiss her thoughts. Her hair rustled at her nod.

“I expect it to be easier to deceive him if you catch him off guard. Run into him a place where he would not expect to meet a lovely, young lady.”

“Where would that be, father?” Asriel asked, genuinely curious.

“Sans came up with an idea beforehand. Please present it to the rest of the team.”

Beside her, Frisk could see how Sans slid further towards the end of the couch, and away from her. It seemed odd.

“ah, yea. i thought it would be a good idea if he…” there was a slight pause before he moved on, “was the hero to save a damsel in distress…”

He trailed off, not looking Frisk in the eyes, but instead gazing at all the monsters.

_And he’s ignoring me why?_

“EXCELLENT IDEA, BROTHER! HOW DO YOU PLAN ON EXECUTING YOUR BRILLIANT PLAN?” Sans scratched the back of his skull, still ignoring Frisk’s presence. It was a bit rude, she thought, to ignore her when the plan revolved around _her_.

“Yeah,” she broke in, trying to sound curious and patient, “how _do_ you plan on executing the plan?”

He didn’t startle per say, but she could swear that his eyes flickered.

Undyne leaned over, elbows on her knees, as she awaited his plan. Judging by the way her eyes sparkled and the way Mettaton didn’t sneer anymore, she concluded that his plans had been good in previous runs. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed the plan was bad then, it was something else. Something _about_ the plan? Maybe he wanted her to do something really embarrassing and wasn’t ready to tell her.

_It’s so sweet I’m going to puke. He shouldn’t worry about that. I’ve been through a lot already; I don’t think things can get much worse than this._

“If you’re scared that I won’t do whatever you’ve planned, you can be completely at ease. I’m ready for anything you throw at me.” She reassured, hand on his arm.

The touch didn’t loosen him up as she had hoped, it only made him slide even more to the right. It was barely noticeable to the others, but his movement felt as sharp as a knife. For the sake of the job, she pushed it aside for now. Even if her stomach knotted weirdly at his actions.

“good.” He finally said, followed by a brief pause. The room waited in suspense. “cause, i was thinking something along the lines of… ah…” he took a break to fiddle with his sleeve, the fabric catching on to a corner of his bone, “you see… what i’m trying to say is…”

“Just spit it out already!” Undyne exclaimed, hands gesturing. He nodded, a blush covering his skull. She was at the edge of her seat, looking as if she might actually jump over the table to shake it out of him. Frisk filed it away for later, marking very clearly that Undyne wasn’t patient. Who knew when it’d save her in the future if they were to work together?

“you pretend that someone is stalking you.” He started. Asgore moved in his chair but stayed quiet so he wouldn’t disturb Sans, now that he was finally trying to get over his odd anxiety.

“ya know that thing some females do when they think a guy is following them? where they run up to someone and beg them to pretend they’re friends?” Frisk didn’t know if she should actually answer or not, especially since he was looking away from her, but she nodded anyway. Doubted he saw it, though. She didn’t know the group well enough to say for sure, but it seemed like they’d caught up on his different behavior too. Frisk wondered if she’d had anything to do with it.

_Is he thinking about us almost having sex?_

“so, you run up to this guy, say that you’re being followed, ask him to save you. everyone with a sliver of morality will say yes, and you just bat your eyelashes afterwards and hug him real tight. ask him how ya can repay him and stuff like that. get him on a date. then get the keycard. easy as cake, right?”

“That is a great plan Sans, though it might need some detailing.” Asgore commented.

_But he was fine until the plan was mentioned. What part about this is he embarrassed about? I bet there’s something here he isn’t sharing with the class._

“I THINK IT’S A GREAT PLAN BROTHER, ALMOST AS GOOD AS MINE. MR. STÖRM WILL DEFINITELY FALL FOR THIS EXCELLENT IDEA OF YOURS. WE CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON YOUR DECIETFUL PLANNINGS!” Making sure to roll his r’s, Papyrus jabbed a finger in the air as he spoke, enthusiastic about everything. Frisk thought it was a good look on him. He appeared like the type who could make others smile just by being happy himself. Judging by how Frisk found herself smiling faintly, and shortly after recognizing every other monster in the room doing the same, she decided she was right.

Mettaton’s smile was brighter than the others’ as he took Papyrus’ hand. “Your brother is quite intelligent, dearest. However Asgore is right, while I would never doubt Sansy, I’m afraid that the, ah, _human,_ could not accomplish this without knowing every move and word.”

“Yeah Sans, care to share with everyone else? Who’s stalking me?” Frisk joined in, trying to ignore how Mettaton was degrading her while everybody else seemed okay with keeping her in the dark. Inwardly, she had to sigh. It was going to be a lot of work to earn their respect. Even Sans must had had his doubts, if he hesitated this much to tell her. Then something dawned on her.

_He could be nervous._

Frisk could had sworn Asgore and Sans exchanged a look, but she wasn’t sure because of the way Sans was sitting. She knew for sure that Asgore’s eyes had a hint of sternness in them, like giving a non-verbal command.

A few seconds passed without anyone saying anything. Just when Frisk was about to poke him for an answer again, did Sans suddenly turn to look her in the eyes. Like a turn of a switch, his twiddling fingers stopped, his expression went graver, and the nervousness disappeared. _Or is he hiding it?_

“we’re doing this mission together.” With a confident elbow on the back of the couch, he literally underwent a whole transformation. Whereas before he’d been almost scared to speak, now he was the perfect picture of elegance in his tailored suit. He’d stopped almost falling over the couch in his attempts to get away from her, and it really didn’t feel right. Either he had severe mood swings, or this guy was suspicious as hell. Frisk knew she had to be on her toes around these guys.

Don’t get it wrong, it wasn’t as if she trusted them with her life yet, but she had faith in their passion for the job. They did need her alive, and not dead. Scars and bruises could also make that CEO shy away from her.

_Eh, at least if he isn’t the type with a big hero complex._

And Sans _did_ plan on making it seem as if Frisk was being stalked. A stalker could get physical too. Just because these monsters needed her to charm a businessman’s keycard from him, it didn’t mean that they had to be nice. She didn’t even know where she was. Asgore’s gang had her good, like a mouse in the trap, trying to get the cheese. If Frisk hadn’t been greedy, then maybe she wouldn’t had gotten in this situation to begin with. _Stupid cheese money._

“i’ve done some research, gotten a taste of his routine. he’ll be at an underground poker game in two days. you need to be ready before then. when he leaves, his car will be waiting, so ya need to be quick here. the moment he steps out of the building, you need to be on him, tears running. no hesitation. i’ll play the part as your stalker.”

“Poker game?” She said, distracting herself from her flight-or-fight mode sparking to life. “What is Störm doing at an underground poker game?” With her knitted eyebrows and pursed lips, she turned to Asgore, who had to have all the answers.

In return she got nothing but a fatherly smile. The kind that emanated security.

She masked her oncoming shiver with a stretch of her arms. A small part of her basked in Sans’ almost unnoticeable shock when she violated his personal space.

_This is throwing me off my mojo real bad. At first he felt like a nice man, but I have a feeling in my gut. They’re definitely hiding something._

Her stomach twisted in knots, regretting being a part of this mess. What had made her think she could handle hustlers like these when she was just a common pocket thief, enjoying the little things, but dreaming of bigger? She’d probably been blinded by the thought of money.


	6. Bones in the Basement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
> Don't mind me, just working full time six days a week, trying to figure out what to do with my life when my sabbatical ends. Writing fanfiction makes me forget I have actual responsibilities now :>

To be honest, she felt like Sans somehow found humor in her embarrassment. That guy could find humor in everything.

Big boss Asgore didn’t seem to like it if she knew anything but one step ahead. Like a lost puppy, she’d been escorted outside the living room by none other than Mr. Skeleton himself, which made no sense at all, because she sometimes had her ingenious moments where she came up with some good shit. For example, that one time where she stole two bottles of vodka from a drunk group of guys by pretending to be one of their old pals. Although she’d said yes when they asked if she was “J-dog”, they’d been too intoxicated to see that she didn’t look anything like a guy that would belong in their crowd. She hadn’t even looked like the opposite sex, man. Then again, she’d just presumed J-dog was a dude, while they very well could be a lady. Who really knew?

Back then she’d been wearing one of her only skirts to celebrate her first big steal of the year: an entire shopping bag filled with expensive jewelry and on-brand shoes that sold for quite a fortune. Anyway, that was what had sponsored her only intact skirt, which fittingly also was the one she wore to hijack those guys’ party.

That had been around 9 years ago. Frisk had been 16 at the time, freshly out of juvie after stealing someone’s car. Additionally, her driving had been so bad that she drove into a pole. It’d gotten her a disappointed look from the police officer, not to mention a killer headache that she regretted when the same cop shoved her in the back of his car.

So, it was fair to say she had experience. For a moment her mind wandered off, thinking about some of the stupid things she’d done in her younger days.

“-got that?”

_Huh?_

“Sorry… Got what?” She stammered, as she fumbled for any clue on which direction Sans had pointed the conversation. _I feel like I heard the work safety a couple times._

Sans looked at her with squinting eye sockets from where he was walking beside her. He’d probably thought she’d been listening instead of zoning out. Only a heartbeat passed before he picked up the actual conversation again, from where Frisk’d zoned off. To his defense he didn’t even look the smallest amount of bothered.

“so anyways because it’s for your own safety, ya shouldn’t be so down just because you don’t know the rest of the plan yet. see it as a… whatchamacallit? a safety measure. for – ya know – your safety.”

“I may have lost focus there for, like, half a second, but I’m pretty sure you’ve already told me that four times already, and could you _stop_ saying _safety_?” She exclaimed, battling the urge to throttle him and his stupid safety measures.

Suddenly it came back to her. He’d been ranting on and on about how she shouldn’t feel excluded just because she wasn’t told everything, and when he’d gone full circle and started explaining it all over again, she’d gotten lost in her thoughts.

“stop saying what? safety?” He asked, eyes glinting with the infuriating light of mischief.

“Yes. That,” twitching her eye, she continued before he could speak again, “and explain to me why in the hell I would help if _you_ don’t even trust me.”

They were walking in sync, and for some reason that irritated Frisk. It made no sense, but she couldn’t stand the thought of working just the smallest bit together with him if he insisted on being a dick.

Which he did.

“okay, let me try to explain it _safely_ one more time, so you can feel really _safe_. ya see, with the information in _non_ - _safe_ hands, it could cause a _security_ breach in our plan! loud sirens, police, handcuffs – you get the picture. it’s just – not – _safe_.”

_Okay. I’m gonna strangle him._

Her eyes probably gave away her plan.

“hey! that’s not _safe_ for _me_!” He erupted as Frisk grabbed hold of the cervical spine. It took away some of the fun that he could breathe just fine while she did so. “if ya take that out i’m gonna become a _quarterback_!”

The stupid grin stopped her cold. He’d just thrown out one of the worst jokes she’d ever heard and smiled as proudly as if he’d pulled off the heist of the century. How could he concentrate enough to make it up on the spot when she was literally trying – albeit failing – to strangle him? This skeleton was seriously one of a kind.

“You’re… impossible.” Frisk removed her hands from his spine, but only to slap her palm across her face. Not that she would admit it, namely because she felt as if his confidence was high enough, but she surprisingly liked it. Maybe it was influenced by the fact that it caught her off guard.

“dunno how to tell ya this, but i’m actually not impossible. i’m sans. sans the-“

“Skeleton. With a determiner as your middle name. Very original, very classic, truly never been done before.” It came out as sarcastic as ever and Sans winked in response.

“i’m special like that, y’know. there isn’t a single monster or human alive with my exact name. now tell me, how many johnsons are out there? thousands? _millions?_ You humans all look alike to me, just how does anyone tell ya apart? you should get a middle name. that might help, so ya won’t be frisk johnson number 238 but instead ya could be… well i dunno. what do you want as a middle name? i can come up with a few ideas if ya need some professional help. personally, i’d go for a determiner, those seem to be very untouched by literally the entire planet. plus, nobody would ever forget your name. it’s a win-win!”

“You want me to rename myself to Frisk the Johnson?” She wrinkled her eyebrows, not even considering it for a second. Just saying it out loud made her wince. It might had worked for Sans, but then again, he was in a whole different league of weird than she was.

“nah you’re right, it doesn’t work for you. guess ya don’t got what it takes to be this special.” He gestured at himself, suit and all.

They were going towards a dining hall, he’d told, where they’d act out how a date between Frisk and Michael Störm could go.

Apparently, their hideout had multiple floors, and Sans had led her through at least two of them. Not that the first floor didn’t have a dining hall, but he’d expressed that he wouldn’t want to bump into anyone while they were working. Frisk had a feeling that they were in an old orphanage, with the way the whole place was designed. Each floor had a smaller dining hall and after Sans had guided their way up through a back stair from the kitchen, she found that the east wing on the second floor only had empty rooms where an array of beds could had been, along with an open door where she briefly caught sight of the common showers. Although she only saw it for a couple of seconds it had looked dusty and abandoned, much like the rest of the second floor. He closed the door gently once he saw it.

Frisk decided they probably kept to the first floor in most cases.

After the east wing Frisk came upon a giant stair, coming from the first floor and continuing up at least two more stories.

“Why didn’t we just take the giant stairs instead of going all the way through this floor?” She asked, eyeing down the main entrance from her spot on the stairs.

“one of the rooms down there is closed off temporarily due to renovation, so it takes longer to walk from there to here. ‘sides, now ya got a tour of the place without even paying! talk about a steal.” Like clockwork, his words were once more followed by a wink. His humor sure was intact.

“Gee, thanks. My wallet’s kinda empty right now, so I appreciate it.” She joked back, eyes rolling. Sans just nodded and took hold of her arm as if it was the most natural thing in the world. His touch felt weird, since his hands were pokey and boney, even though the gloves he wore and the shirt Frisk had on masked most of it. What really came as a surprise to her was actually the fact that she had waited for him to take it, something she couldn’t quite understand. It felt nice to have his hand on her arm, even though it obviously only served as a friendly gesture.

_Right?_

On impulse, Frisk decided to look up. The sight of stairs going up that many stories made her feel small as a mouse in comparison. She let out a little huff of air in awe. Somehow, it filled her with determination.

“This place looks huge! How can you afford all this?”

Sans shrugged, tugging her arm forward so that they could continue on.

“what can i say little lady, i guess crime really does pay afterall.”

“Please tell me how much it cost you, I want to know so badly! I’ve never been inside a house this big! Sans it looks incredible.” At that he gave her a genuine smile, probably because she never had had high standards of living, and the mansion they were in was in desperate need of TLC. Frisk knew that it wasn’t necessarily a pristine living, what with the dusty floors, creaking boards and covered windows, but she saw real potential in it, and not just because of the size.

“If I lived here, I’d be the happiest woman on earth. Don’t you love it?”

“love it? listen, this place is a dump to put it nicely. we only care about the east wing on the first floor, and even that part of the house looks messy.” Frisk could had sworn that the laugh he let out was proud. “that’s me and ‘dyne’s fault. we liven things up a tiny bit.”

Their steps on the stone platform that connected the stairs and the two wings of the mansion echoed off the walls. Sans led her across the platform and into the western wing, where she presumed the dining hall would be. Not that she wasn’t athletic, but walking this much was really tiring, though she didn’t understand why. Before she joined up with the monsters, she’d been in the best shape ever, so it didn’t make sense that her legs felt wobbly after this short a trip. She had felt it during the spiral staircase going from the kitchen and to the second floor, but it had died out a bit when they reached the end of the steps.

Then she realized that they hadn’t been wobbly as much as they had been numb, actually. It had felt more as if she lost feeling in them.

_Whatever, it’s just because I’m nervous. No need to freak out over nothing, okay, when there’s a simple explanation. Don’t hype everything up in your head, Frisk._

She moved the feeling, or lack thereof, to the back of her mind so she could concentrate on walking normally. Her legs were moving fine at the moment, and all she needed was probably just to sit down when they arrived and get a full night’s sleep when the day was over. It was most likely stress and nervousness that stood behind it all.

“Seriously, you gotta tell me! How much money did you buy this place for? Millions?” She could only guess how many big heists had sponsored an estate of this size. In a wonder of imagining the heists they could had pulled off, she decided that she really had stepped into the big league afterall. It boosted her ego a bit.

Sans shook his head at the question. As the western wing rose up around them, he answered.

“not even close little lady. we got it for free.” Frisk sputtered wildly, her mind going off with dreams of getting a mansion like this as her own for no money at all. That would be the sweetest life she could ever ask for.

“For free? How?! Please tell me Sans!”

_I don’t care if I sound like a child, I need a place like this for my own! After this job I’m getting a mansion and retire for good. I bet I could live off the money I get for this heist._

“it’s not what it sounds like, so don’t get all too excited.” Sans saw something particular in her expression and hurried to add, “the mayor gave it to asgore so he could restore it. it was a peace offering between the races, but it isn’t that great a gift. if we want to keep it, we have to restore all the floors and wings, and fix the garden out back. we’ve had this place for years, and only come up with enough money to tidy up the first floor. i dunno what asgore wants, but i think it’d be cool if we turned this place into a hotel of sorts. problem is, it’s hard work. first off, we need the money, then we need to find people to help fix it. hell, if i could i would, but i don’t know much about saving antique mansions, so we need to be lucky enough to find some humans brave enough to come up the damn hill alone and use weeks to fix just the floors. i’d say asgore bit off more than he could chew, if i didn’t know it’d get my things sent out on the streets.”

_They have trouble finding humans willing to help restore it?_

“That’s harsh. Was it an orphanage before you took it over?”

“yep. and before that i’m pretty sure it was property of some rich family named rosary. don’t care about them though, i’m only concerned about the massive amount of bones i found in the basement.”

“You found what?!” She exclaimed, imagining the headmistress of the orphanage killing unwanted kids and hiding them from the police. Her imagination sure was running wild that day.

“yea, the very first time i walk into the basement, undyne calls out to me from behind a wine rack, then _boom!_ there she stands with a boned hand in her grip, trying to reach the uppermost bottle! i ask her, ‘ _undyne where did you find that hand?_ ’ and she points to the left of me where a pile of bones lay, clothes still intact.”

An unwanted chill ran down Frisk’s spine. Imagining how the basement looked and how creepy it would appear with dusty wine racks and old skeletons hidden under piles of clothes was interesting enough for her to stare into his eyes, awaiting the rest.

_This place could be haunted with the ghosts of murdered children! Is that why they gave it away for free?_

“so i walk up to the body, and you don’t know undyne, but she usually doesn’t care about scary stuff, so she just opens up her bottle of wine and complains about the taste. suddenly an icy wind breezes past us, which was weird because there were no windows…”

“There were no windows…” Frisk whispered in contemplation, hand squeezing his lightly. “Was it the souls of the children walking past you?”

“it might’ve been. all i knew was that the room was cold, there was too silent, and the pile of bones was starting to move…”

Sans put his arm around Frisk’s shoulder when she started to feel an annoying tingle in her whole body. Her hands were becoming too cold for her own liking, but she guessed that was the effect of a good horror story.

“It moved on its own?” She asked, wondering what could cause a pile of bones to move on its own. Was it the wind? Was it the revenge-seeking souls of the dead children? _Oh no, it’s the dead children coming to haunt Sans and Undyne out of their basement!_

“on its very own. so i ask undyne ‘ _what happened here?_ ’ and she walks up to me, bottle in one hand, spear in the other. ‘dyne bends down and looks me dead in the sockets as she says…”

About a handful of seconds passed, making Frisk lose her mind with anticipation. _What did she say?_

“she says ‘ _Pap wouldn’t help me get this bottle down, so I beat him up and took his arm. But I already said I was sorry, so we’re good._ ’

“‘course i turn to look at the pile of bones, and sure enough it’s pap! my little bro stands up with two legs and one arm, looking great as always, and takes his arm back from undyne. anyways, so that’s how i found my brother lying on the floor of the basement the first time i went down there.”

“It wasn’t haunted at all?” A little disappointed, Frisk untangled herself from Sans so she could start walking again.

“maybe. dunno what to tell ya, but it rattled my bones to see my bro lying dead on the floor like that. that fish to undyne knows how to pack a punch, i’ll give ya that one for free as well!”

Ready to finish their tour, she took a step forward again, but when her foot met the floor, she felt the tingle turn into an icy pain up her leg. She hissed, trying to even her weight with her other foot, but when Sans asked what was wrong, she started to lose all feeling in her good leg too. This wasn’t just because she was tired or stressed, immediately she knew something was amiss. Nothing like this ever happened before, so she was wondering if any of the monsters had anything to do with it. Despite it all, she still didn’t trust Asgore fully. Since the meeting she’d had this funny feeling that he was hiding something very important from her.

“seriously, what’s wrong? your face is pale all of a sudden. do ya need to sit down for a minute?” Sans reached out to her, and one look at his face told Frisk he was concerned.

Hell, she was too.

“Yeah I just gotta sit down for a second. My leg started acting up is all. I don’t know what’s happening to be completely honest.” She grimaced as he helped her sit down against the wall, the icy pain disappearing and turning into the numbness she’d had before it. It affected her legs the most, but her hands were also pretty weird. Trying to block out the feeling, she closed her eyes, but it only made it worse.

She sighed.

“Hey Sans, how far is it to the dining hall?” He didn’t skip a beat.

“i can carry you, if ya can’t walk there on your own. i may be a bag of bones, but i’m a magical bag of bones! i even bet ya won’t weigh a thing. it’s those damn human legs, ya can’t trust ‘em. now lemme tell ya, _monster_ legs would never let you down like that-”

 _Is he ranting? Because he’s_ nervous _?_

“No, no, there’s no need for you to carry me the rest of the way. Just give me half a minute to collect myself, then I think I’m good. Thanks though.”

 _That was a really nice suggestion… A_ friendly _suggestion of course._

Sans shrugged in response, like he couldn’t care less if she died or lived. Truth was, she was getting a feeling that he did care a little bit. Could be because of her job, though.

“whatever. suit yourself.” He glided down the wall to sit beside her, just watching the opposite wall grow older.

“I don’t know what happened, but I’m sorry that I’m putting us behind schedule. I know how important this is to you and your friends.”

“don’t worry about it. don’t want ya to faint or something, you’d just end up bruising yourself. we can’t have that when you’re supposed to be a hot babe seducing a rich politician.” Frisk laughed, though a bit forcibly.

“Right.”

The silence went on for a while. As time passed, the numbness in her legs and hands died down enough for her to feel confident walking again.

However, she still couldn’t understand what this feeling was, or why it was happening. Did it have something to do with her blackout? It could be. She desperately needed to figure out why she was experiencing these weird episodes. One day they could cost her something as grave as her life maybe.

_Alright, now you’re taking it too far. These are mere coincidences, nothing more, nothing less. You’re being overdramatic again. It’s just as you said before: you’re stressed about this whole situation and haven’t gotten enough sleep. There isn’t more to it than that. Take it easy. Asgore isn’t executing a sinister plan to use you as a puppet or to kill you in your sleep, you’re just being paranoid because that’s what street life does to you. Calm down, have you ever heard of a monster serial killer? No, because they don’t exist! They’re peaceful and harmless!_

“Uh…” Frisk said, cutting her thoughts off. They were getting too complicated.

_I don’t know what to believe._

“yea?”

“Let’s get going. I feel fine now.”

Sans somehow narrowed his brow bones. He looked her up and down, almost as if looking for some kind of injury. Was she injured? Had she cut herself on a piece of metal when she fell and gotten metal poisoning? Also, could that cause hallucinations?

_No, idiot, the hallucinations came before I fell. It can’t be._

“you sure ya don’t want to be carried? i don’t mind looking like a superhero saving a damsel in distress.” He winked back at her, watching her cheeks turn red.

“I’m no damsel in distress.” Was her only answer as she rose up too quickly and fought to keep the stars out of her eye sight. They were dancing mercilessly until Sans once again slipped his arm around hers. He supported her more than she’d like.

“i can see that little lady. you got it all under control. that reminds me of some other time where you also had the situation under control, y’know that one time where your face hugged the sidewalk because you fainted? sorry, i shouldn’t doubt ya. if anyone has things under control it’s frisk the almighty johnson.” He said rather sarcastically.

“Don’t use a determiner and an adjective as my middle name, you insensitive bag of bones. Next time I’m calling you Sans the Annoying Skeleton” Frisk grumbled back. Poking at her ego was one of the things she hated most.

_That and bags of chips. If I wanted more air I’d fucking go outside._

They stayed quiet the rest of the way to the hall. Sans’ touch made her redden every once in a while, but when she berated herself it disappeared. At least that was what she hoped.

The dining hall was one big, open space that had no doors that led from the room to the hallway. Newly bought furniture stood placed in rows, just like a normal dining hall would look like. The only difference from the old dining hall and the new would by Frisk’s guess be the tables and chairs, since they had little to no dust on them. It was all made of wood, the chairs with plush lining. A chandelier hung in the middle of the room, but the candles were electronic. It lit up with Sans’ flick of a switch.

“we – well, asgore really – furnished all the dining halls. not much, but it makes us think we’re making progress towards turning this place into something nice.”

Frisk was still a bit insulted at his previous remark but chose to let it slide. Her curiosity got the best of her, not to mention that she hadn’t been in a room this big in a long time. The floor was still the old creaking boards, and the walls the same boring concrete, but the big windows on the far side of the wall let in massive amounts of light, which she hadn’t seen in the other floors. She could see some real potential in this house. A hotel sounded like a great idea.

“Honestly Sans, I think the hotel idea is a great plan. It would totally work given the time and money. Just look at those gorgeous windows! With the right curtains and a good polish, I bet they’d give a beautiful view of the garden!”

Sans just nodded, apparently shy about something. He scratched the back of his skull.

“look, ya can’t tell any of the others that you saw this, but if you promise to shut up about it, i’ll let you look out the windows.”

Her hair flew wildly as she whipped her head around to look him in the eyes. Why would he do this if he knew the others wouldn’t agree with it? Was it a trap?

_From this angle I can’t see anything but the sky. If I just walk a bit closer though…_

She considered it. She’d probably need to go all the way over to the windows to see anything useful, but then she grew more curious of the things Asgore hadn’t wanted her to see. A part of her wanted to do it just to spite him.

_And to hide it for what? To let their identity remain a secret?_

“go.” Sans’ voice was soft as he gently pushed her forward. Immediately a tingle shot up her legs, but she fought it down as she walked over to the windowsill. The windows were probably 20 feet tall, if not more. She wanted to see the garden so badly…

And her mind went to a weird place that she had forgotten during her trip with Sans. A place with a castle, an endless forest and blue skies. The place from her hallucination.

She mentally threw the picture away. It gave her chills.

When she reached the window she was aiming for, she got a full view of the front yard. The mansion was atop a hill, with a gravel road leading from the main entrance and all the way down, hidden by tall trees at the bottom. The rest was bare ground: no plants but grass, no water, no animals. The landscape looked dreadfully boring at the very least. Depressing was probably more like it.

The clouded sky enveloped the yard in a grayish tint that ate up all joy a person might get from viewing nature. The most exciting thing out there was the thick forest down the hill, where you could see nothing but pine trees for miles. Why Asgore would forbid her to see this, she couldn’t comprehend. There was literally nothing there.

“so, whaddya think?” Sans asked with the barest hint of anticipation, as if he wanted her to like the dead hill their mansion laid upon.

Well, to be fair she’d seen the beauty in everything else. She’d seen potential where the others had told him there was none. Maybe he needed to hear that this place wasn’t totally impossible to save. A part of him might need something to claw onto so he could live out the dream he’d created in his mind about a grand hotel. Something. _Anything_. Even a single word, probably.

_Who am I to take away his dream?_

Frisk turned around, bright smile on her face. She made sure it reached her eyes.

“I love it! Don’t you see all of the possibilities with this place? Right now the front yard is pretty bland, but I bet if you put a bit effort into it, this could turn into a luxurious hotel!”

She could instantly tell he tried to hide it, but something lit in his eyes. A small hope, or just the spark that his flame needed to grow. He returned the smile she’d given him.

“glad ya like it. now just don’t go blabbering about, alright? i want to keep my job, though ya might not think so with all the favors i’ve given you today. free advice, a tour of the place and letting you look at the front yard? lady, you owe me so big we’re gonna have to figure out how you’re gonna pay me back.”

“I’m not gonna pay for that, it’s called basic human decency.” Frisk laughed, shaking her head. He couldn’t be serious?

“lemme see… yup. ya owe me at least two straight hours of training.” He’d counted the hours on his fingers.

“Training? Weren’t we gonna do that anyways?”

“well yes, but i can’t go around letting you think ya actually got anything for free. that’s bad business. next thing i know, i’ll be broke!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In comparison to my other work, I actually enjoy writing this one. It feels good knowing that you wrote the best you could, and with my work Gunpowder and Red Lipstick, I felt forced to put out a chapter, even though I didn't give it my all.  
> So thank you for reading this work of mine! Thank you for leaving comments, and thank you for being a small part of my life that I'm reminded by every time I log on.  
> I hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoy posting it. During my time on this platform I've developed my writing abilities a lot, which you'll know if you read even a single chapter of GPRL... Not to criticize myself, but I'm not satisfied with how it turned out, and I've started this story to kind of make up for my shitty writing. Don't get me wrong, this work also needs polishing, but I'd rather continue this than try to save my onfire garbage can.  
> Then again, if I hadn't started that work, I wouldn't be here, creating a story I see great possibilities in.  
> Thanks for being here.


	7. Pushing the Limits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers~ I've arisen from the dead.  
> I'm back with a long ass chapter, that's almost two normal chapters long ;-; But I can't lie, this is one of my favorites so far, and I feel like I'm getting better and better at writing for every chapter I post. (For those of you who have read Gunpowder and Red Lipstick, that shit-fest doesn't count)  
> So please enjoy another chapter of my baby c:

Frisk sat by one of the tables at Sans’ suggestion. For some stupid reason couldn’t comprehend, her eyes tended to gravitate over to the windows every so often, but as the table they sat at was by the wall, she couldn’t actually see anything but the dark, depressing sky. Even if it looked dead out there it was still the only connection she had with the outer world, and like it or not there was a part of her that wanted to jump out the damn window and just book it.

_Homesickness or paranoia?_

“Sans, how long was I out for?” She asked out of nowhere, since he hadn’t actually told her. He looked up from his phone, where he was searching for a good playlist to set the mood. Frisk had let him do it to satisfy his need to create a “professional setting”, but she doubted it’d set the mood the way he intended it to. She had a feeling that when she and Störm would go on that date, it’d be at a fancy restaurant, and the dining hall was…

Well, to be quite honest it wasn’t all that. The only thing it had going for it was the giant chandelier, the windows and the open space. It lacked charm. And heat. She doubted good music would fix what it lacked.

“only an hour. it wasn’t really that long.” After Sans looked her over once or twice, he continued. “you cold or something?”

They maintained eye contact until Frisk chickened out, a few seconds later. How had he known? She wasn’t _that_ easy to read, was she? The thought had barely formed in her mind before he picked up on it. Was he… a mind reader? Oh, that’d be too much! Leave it to magic to make her uncomfortable.

“Seriously dude, are you a mind reader or something? I swear, there’re times where I feel like you know me better than I know myself!” Sans laughed deeply, the kind of laugh that vibrates through the body. Her stomach started to tingle, and her inner voice was starting to know why.

“that’s one i’ve never heard before, actually. and trust me, people love to guess what my magic’s about. i can tell ya, my power isn’t that complex.” He looked off into the distance a couple of seconds. “eh, well at least not in that way. don’t ask about it.”

Her curiosity got the better of her, so she decided to ignore the last thing he said.

“So if it isn’t mind reading then what _is_ your power? Don’t you think I deserve to know if we’re going to work together?”

“lady, you’re sure you wanna know? i don’t want ya to be scared of me afterwards.” She had to assume he joked, though there was no real tell on him currently. Asking him about his powers was a chance she was risking solely because he had been open about their mansion, which lead her to believe he might be willing to share some information about himself too. He could just be shy about telling. Maybe his powers were really small and nothing to really brag about, which would explain why he was hesitant to tell her.

“I won’t get scared. You’re just a little comedian with a blue parka and a cute smile. What’re you gonna do, make me laugh to death?” She joked back at him to make sure the topic didn’t turn dark. If there was one thing she wanted to know, it was his magical abilities. She had some ideas already, like time control, invisibility or mind reading, but nothing actually solid yet. Though if he was embarrassed by his powers and that was why he didn’t want to show them, she couldn’t guess what they’d be. Her guesses at his powers had only been exciting so far.

Frisk wanted to know the extent of his powers so bad, that she got terribly shocked at the extinguished eye lights she was staring into all of a sudden. She’d only seen that expression once before, and it’d been back at Starbuns when he made the entire shop go dark, and the people stop their actions.

That was the reason why she had a feeling he could control time, though she really didn’t want to find out by demonstration once again. This wasn’t what she’d expected when he’d agreed on showing her.

“Alright, so no laughing to death then?” She whispered with her breath taken away when the light around them was eaten up by a dark void. It was exactly like what had happened at the coffeeshop.

Sans smiled grotesquely.

“y’know little lady, normally i’d love to joke around,” with a powerful speed he took hold of Frisk’s wrist on the table, tugging it closer to his face. Frisk had to grimace at the pain from his pressure. “but magic is a serious matter.” Her heart started beating quicker and quicker, so loudly that she thought he might hear it as well. A woozy feeling in her head made the world blurry for just a spare second, but she fought hard to focus her vision.

_I find him so hard to read! Am I in any actual danger right now, or is he proving a point? I can’t tell!_

“Serious matter… Got it…” It was under strain that the words even came out, but she couldn’t help herself. His eye sockets were completely empty, his face was grim, and the room had disappeared around them. All that remained was the table and chairs, as if he had teleported them into space.

Except there were no stars, or galaxies, or asteroids, and that wasn’t because her vision was blurred. Now that she thought about, there was nothing at all. It was just a black hole. _A void?_

When Sans put more pressure on her wrist, she let out a pained gasp. If one good thing came out of the pain, it was that it cleared her sight enough so she could stare at his ice cold expression.

“you know how easy it would be to kill you right now?” He growled. The sound scared Frisk right down to her core. His gaze felt like stabbing icicles.

Words didn’t come out. She simply couldn’t form any. The utter terror his black stare created, had nailed her tongue into place, so she tried to nod instead. It became a feverish nod, like she would say or do anything to escape his claws then and there.

“G O O D .” His voice was dripping with a threat so dangerous, that she didn’t blame herself when she closed her eyes and whimpered in fright.

“Sorry Sans,” she tried to say, but she wasn’t sure if he heard. “I won’t ask again.”

As her eyes were tightly closed, she only felt his mood change when he let go of her wrist. He laid it gently on the table between them, just like a gentleman would after kissing it. It was then that she dared to open her eyes again slowly.

The room was back to normal. There was a grey light coming from the windows once again, and just that very thing almost made her sink into the chair. 

That encounter had almost killed her!

With a bit of forced bravery, she looked at her bruised wrist. He certainly hadn’t spared any muscle power on holding it. At least it wasn’t broken, she mused. She’d probably asked for it, probing about his personal life.

“well?” Sans said, causing her to jerk in her seat. The danger in his voice was long gone now, but the memory still lingered. She’d known he could change appearances quicker than she could snap her fingers, but for some reason she’d forgotten how utterly terrifying it was. He had been in his complete right to say he could kill her anytime. That skeleton could whip up some strong magic in no time whatsoever. Her theory that he was embarrassed by his powers quickly died down, replaced by a different theory that he just didn’t like it when people stuck their nose into his personal life.

“Sans, I’m sorry for joking about your magic. Also, I’m sorry that I took something so important to you so lightly as I did, and I understand if you’re upset about it. I have no excuse.”

Sans had no reaction. He barely moved.

“alright lady, you learned your lesson?” he asked with a voice so nonchalant that you wouldn’t believe he’d threatened her life just before.

“I did, but I’m not saying sorry for the same thing four times, so you better have forgiven me already.” Frisk grumbled. As her pride stung from being submissive, she decided to change the subject as quickly as possible. It’d been her own fault, considering that he didn’t know anything about her either, but if she was to work together with him on this heist soon, then maybe they should get to know each other a bit better. In case something went wrong, it’d be nice to know Sans had her back, and that she’d save his ass if he got in trouble. Previously she’d worked with various people and all the jobs they’d done had been easier when they knew the other person’s strengths and weaknesses. Her childhood friend Verna had been the best partner to work alongside with, because they both knew how they would react in all situations. Maybe they could have done great schemes like this one with Sans together if life had been a little different.

The question here was, could she convince Sans to stop being an idiot and just share some information about himself with her if she dangled information about her past in front of him, or was she forced to work together with a guy she knew nothing about and had difficulty reading?

“nothing to forgive little lady. i know you humans love to be _curious_ and _discover_ new things. can’t blame ya for a genetic defect that basically all your kind suffer from, no matter how insensitive or hurtful it may be. it’s just in your genes.” She had a hunch that he’d become a bit touchy after their conversation.

“First of all, _ouch_. Secondly, you can’t put a stereotype on all humans. That’s just racist!” She exclaimed, rubbing her wrist tenderly. How would she explain that to Mr. Ström?

Sans laughed bitterly, his head shaking from side to side.

“racist, huh? since when has that stopped your kind from stereotyping us? don’t talk about things you know nothing about, especially when you’re not a monster like me. ya know nothing about how society treats us.”

Frisk blanched for a moment. She really hadn’t wanted to step into these waters with him, since she knew where it could lead, but there was no way around it now. She’d rather just get it over with so they could treat each other as equals, instead of stepping around such a sensitive subject.

“Alright bone-boy, throw that race-card at me if you’d like.” She said, already tired of the conversation. “However, you should know that racism works _both_ ways. You’re damn right I know nothing about the problems you face, but that doesn’t give you a right to stereotype me as a human being. There are plenty of human jerks that fit into your little all-humans-are-so-curious-it’s-gonna-kill-them box of yours, but if you start putting everyone into that, then you’re part of the problem why racism exist.”

She took a deep breath while she examined his face for a reaction. All she found was a dead smile. Frisk had much more to say on the topic, mostly to underline the entire point of what she was trying to tell. She became determined to see it through, even if she knew she’d pissed Sans off long ago.

“I haven’t been educated on monsters or their culture, I need you to know that. I grew up on the streets, though even if I had gone to school, it wouldn’t have made a difference. Most schools don’t even teach monster history. I’m gonna say some offensive things, like the magic question, and I’m not gonna know it’s rude unless you tell me. You have to help me learn alright? I need you to guide me through your customs, I need you to correct me when I’m doing something I shouldn’t. I have no idea how much of my culture is different from yours, so could you please just try to help me out? Look, I bet you guys have the same problems with humans all the time, where you have cultural differences and end up insulting someone, right? Let’s help each other out. You teach me about your culture, I’ll teach you about mine. How’s that sound? I’m not trying to insult you, never have been.”

Finally, Sans moved. He cocked his head in thought, head resting on his hand. The other was tapping the table slowly, like his contemplation was a hard one. His smile had softened up to a degree where Frisk thought he wasn’t out to kill her anymore, then again she apparently sucked at reading him, so it wasn’t like she trusted her gut yet. Not completely at least.

Frisk waited patiently for his answer, exactly as he’d been patient when he’d asked her if she was certain that she wanted to be in on the heist. She figured they’d have to treat one another as equals to get anywhere near being rich with Michael Ström’s money.

“alright little lady. ya may be onto something here-“

“We also should get to know each other.” She added quickly before he could continue. He sighed dramatically.

“ya drive a hard bargain.”

“I drive a _fair_ bargain. Aren’t we going to be working together?” Sans slapped his tapping hand on the table.

“well, yes.”

“Then shouldn’t we know all the skills between us, in case we’re gonna need them? What if Ström kidnaps me and I have to get away? Then it might be nice to know whether you could save me, or if I had to do my own thing.”

“ström isn’t going to kidnap you. what’s he gonna use ya for?”

“It was just an example Sans…” She mumbled, somewhat hurt. Then again, he was probably right. Why would Ström take Frisk from the streets?

“We should trust each other enough to see this through.”

For some reason, Sans’ gaze flickered for a second. Just one. The knot in her stomach returned again.

_I knew it. They’re hiding something from me._

“sure. let’s share stories so ya get off my back.”

“You start.” Frisk stated, staring into his eyes with stern determination. She wasn’t buckling under his just-as-cold stare.

“no.”

“Why not?” She said, exasperated. Her hand gestured in the air as she shook her head. “Still don’t trust me enough?”

Sans shrugged in response. “your idea, you start.”

“Fine.” Frisk snapped, arms crossing in annoyance. She just wanted to get this over with so they could finally work as a team. “Do you want my entire life story, or just the part where I tell you what I’m good at?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm, something she hoped he noticed. Based on his non-caring stare, she guessed he did but was too tired to say anything about it.

“i tell ya as much as you tell me, so you decide.”

_Great._

“You can get the not-so-detailed version. Alright then… Let’s see. It all started 25 years ago when my mom gave birth to me in the hospital and then died…” She started, tone void of feelings. Some parts about her past were bad enough that she wanted to forget they ever happened. “And then my dad took me to some shitty house in the middle of drug central. Eh, long story short he falls behind on a debt when I was around 14 years old, the house gets stormed by some guys, my dad gets shot, and I just start running for my life. The house was in a suburb right outside New Jackhill, so it wasn’t long before my running took me to the streets there. I had no money or anything, so – like – I just kept sucking up to strangers to get them to buy me some food. Most of them just walked by me, even in the suburbs where people usually care a bit more, but some bought me bread or pizza to shut me up. Once a woman called the CPS on me, but I ran before they could find me. It’s not like they really care, anyway.

“Uhm, then I started to realize it would be getting colder in the nights around autumn, so I had a minor breakdown where I contemplated turning myself in at the nearest police station, because I desperately wanted an adult to help me. But like all bad ideas, I got over it. Instead of finding an adult, I found this girl named Verna, who were a few years older than me, but who still lived with her fucked up aunt in their apartment downtown. Apparently, they ran this scheme where Verna tricked tourists into thinking she was homeless, so that they’d give her money, and she’d give them to her aunt to help fund her various addictions. I think it was only alcohol, but I’m not really sure to be honest. Anyway, that’s how I found Verna in the first place.

“I jumped in on the scheme in return for staying with them, but only for about a few months. We did the homeless girl gig occasionally, but she also taught me how to pickpocket as a team and on my own. Verna was my weird teacher in the arts. She showed me how to properly climb the sides of buildings if we needed to escape, she showed me how to do a perfect roll after a high jump, and some other basic things. The last day me and Verna stayed with her aunt, was when we came back one time and Verna had less money than I did. Her aunt started screaming about how her niece was getting too old to do the gig, because homeless adults didn’t earn as much as homeless children. To be fair, she was only 3 years older than I was, and I think Verna had just lowered her game so that I’d finally be the one with the most goods when we returned. It didn’t have anything to do with age, just her raving mad aunt.

“Then, uhm… Something else happened, that caused her aunt to ignore that we took a lot of money and left. It’s not important what it was, but safe to say that me and Verna left with quite a bit of cash that had been stored away.

“So, Verna and I were on the streets together, but that didn’t stop us from living our life to the fullest. We ran schemes all over town, tricking even the locals. Then come winter, we had known business would die down, so Verna had planned ahead. She’d saved enough money to buy food for some time, but not enough to buy anything to would keep us warm. We knew that turning to one of the homeless shelters could get the CPS on our asses, and Verna kept telling me we didn’t need them. She’d heard stories of kids who got placed in families even worse than those they came from, and that scared me a lot. Besides, the only family I needed was Verna. I’m pretty sure we viewed each other as sisters, but we never said it out loud, y’know.” Frisk took a break to think about what was important and what wasn’t.

“Let’s skip a couple years ahead to where Verna finally turned 18 and upgraded to a full-time job somewhere I can’t remember. Pretty sure it was a restaurant or a self-owned store of some kind, most important thing is that they paid in cash. It was always the sketchy places that accepted her. She changed jobs so many times, I can’t keep track of them anymore. The first month of her job went by terribly for me, as I – for the first time in forever – had to go most of my day hours without her. It was worse than losing my dad, honestly.

“Then when we’d saved up enough money to pay for a place in New Jackhill, I think we had the best day of our lives. Verna had a social security number that didn’t raise as many questions as mine did. It hadn’t been brought to the authority’s attention that she’d been living on the streets for years, so they assumed she’d lived with her aunt the entire time. Buying that apartment for us saved my life more than she could ever had imagined. Honestly, _she_ saved my life more than she could ever had imagined.” Frisk stopped. For the first time in her life, she was sitting here telling somebody about her life. Someone that wasn’t Verna or her reflection in the mirror. She had to process that for a moment, as she turned to look at the windows. It was oddly therapeutic to talk to him about this, even though he most likely didn’t care. Caring or not, he was actually a pretty good listener when he tried to be.

The clouds outside moved slowly across the sky. Looking at it, a small rush of determination coursed through her veins. Life had definitely thrown everything it got at her, but as time passed, she’d done as well as she could in the circumstances she was thrown into.

“she sounds nice. where is she now?” Sans asked, breaking the silence. Frisk whipped her head back to look at him and found him leaning his elbows on the table with his fingers twiddling. Could he be uncomfortable with her story? Surely it wasn’t anything worse than he’d been through himself.

The question stabbed her in the heart. She didn’t blame him, as he couldn’t had known.

“She died.” Frisk admitted. It was only the half-truth, but she didn’t want to dig into it too much right now. Their last time spent together had been rough.

Sans’ only answer was, “oh.”

She was staring a hole into the table, too embarrassed to look him in the eyes. It was the first thing she’d told him that wasn’t completely truthful, and it made her feel bad.

“Yeah, but that’s okay. I’ve moved on. After she was gone, I took over the apartment and continued working at Starbuns. It happened a year ago now. Paying rent is more difficult when you’re a man down, but I made it work. Our place was as small as they come anyway, so I just made a deal with the landlord to turn the property over in my name instead.”

“but how could you do that?” He asked, brows knitted.

“Technically I do have everything I need to be an official citizen of this country. The only thing that came in between me and living a normal life was when I went to juvie at 16 years old, because the authorities finally got their hands on me. Of course Verna wasn’t going to let them get me that easily, so while I sat in juvie she–“

Frisk halted mid-sentence, to questioningly look Sans in the eyes. He looked back just as confused with his head tilted. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times, the gears in her head turning and turning. Stopping hadn’t been her intention.

_Earth to Frisk? Do you copy? What are you gonna tell him?_

“she what?” Sans asked, probably impatient. It jerked her to a start.

“Right. She had some extra money in her pockets to pay for a good lawyer, that defended her in a lawsuit to make Verna my legal guardian, since she was actually 19 years old at the time. That lawyer worked wonders, and when I’d served my time in juvie, I went straight back to living with her like usual.”

“and?” He dragged it out, wanting to know the rest. He knew there was more, something she was holding back. Afterall, there was a lot of empty space between Frisk going to juvie at 16, and Sans finding her at the streets at 25. That was 9 years unaccounted for.

“The end.” She answered. “Me and Verna lived happily ever after, until she died in an accident and I had to live on my own.”

_Now you know what it feels like, jerk. Maybe next time don’t keep secrets from me._

“so you’ve been just working at starbuns for this whole year?”

“I’ve worked a lot of places since I turned 18. But yeah, just worked and worked-“

“and stolen money to fuel your shopping addiction and bought vodka for the long nights.”

That hit right at home, but Frisk fought intensely not to tense up. Alcohol had been her savior ever since she lost her best friend.

Sans nodded, the tapping of his fingers on the table being the only noise in the hall for a while.

As Sans swallowed Frisk’s life story, she ran some fingers through her hair. After their conversation she was starting to feel restless, though if it was the result from guilt or anger, she couldn’t tell.

She pushed her chair back and rose from her seat. Sans’ eyes followed her as she walked over to the windows, finally being able to see the entire view again.

_How could I have been so blind? Of course, Verna had to have gotten the money for a lawyer somewhere. Lawyers cost more than a month’s worth of a waitress salary can cover. It was right in front of my nose for years._

The wind rustled the pine trees down the hill, but it was the only movement for miles. She couldn’t even spot a bird. Maybe the front yard could benefit from a giant water fountain with figurines of monsters, and flower beds bursting with colors of all kinds. If she really concentrated on it, she could imagine how it would look with the front turned into a beautiful garden. Birds would come from far away to perch atop the trees, squirrels would dare to run around stealing nuts, and there would be filled with the sounds of nature, instead of this dead nothingness Asgore insisted on keeping.

A hand landed softly on her shoulder. The movement startled her so much that she gasped, turning around to find Sans gazing out longingly at the front yard. She moved a bit to the left so they could stand together and look out over the landscape. His hand fell to his side, which oddly enough only made her want it to touch her again.

Before he could say anything else on the topic of her past, she quietly said, “you know, with some love and money this could turn into a really beautiful garden.”

“yeah.” He whispered. Neither of them looked at each other as they spoke.

“What if you placed a water fountain right there?” She pointed to the middle of the front yard, right where the road was.

“in the middle of the driveway?” He sounded dubious, but Frisk knew her idea was a good one. It just needed a bit of work.

“Yeah. Then you could lay a new driveway that continues around the fountain in a circle, and have parking at this side here,” she pointed downwards, where there was a huge empty space. Then again, the whole front was a huge empty place. “Or if you want it to be symmetrical, you could have parking at both sides, so that more cars could park here. If you want this to become a hotel that is.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Frisk saw as Sans nodded, deep in thought. Maybe he could visualize it the way she had intended to. While she left Sans to contemplate over the design of the garden, Frisk let out a big breath. They were standing pretty close to one another, even closer than they needed to look out the same window.

It left her wondering if she knew what she was doing. She wasn’t a total idiot; she could read the signs her body was showing her. Sans was attracting the hell out of her.

No surprise there, actually. She tended to be attracted by people who had a mysterious side to them, and Sans appeared to have a lot of secrets she hadn’t yet uncovered. His powers for one, but also that big secret Asgore and him were keeping from her. The entire team but her could know at this point, and though a few secrets here and there never harmed anyone, she was sure that this one mattered a lot. Otherwise, why would Sans look away during their conversation about working together? It could had been a coincidence, but her gut was screaming that wasn’t the case. Everyone could slip up on their act, even a professional thief such as Sans. It wasn’t totally impossible that it was one of his tells.

What had she done up until then that could had made him slip up? She hadn’t done anything unusual other than mentioning trusting each other. Could it be guilt? Was he feeling guilty over keeping that secret from her? Then it had to be an important one. Even more so than she thought.

Though she wanted to trust him more than she trusted Asgore, she had to hold back until she figured out what they were hiding. It could be a small thing that they just didn’t trust a human enough to know, but she wasn’t completely won over on that theory. During their meeting in the living room, it hadn’t seemed like the rest of the team knew about the plan either, acting dumb or not. Especially Asriel had looked interested in what Sans had to say.

Sans was also Asgore’s right-hand man. That much was obvious from the start. He had found Frisk on the street, he was the one who brought her back, he was the one who stood beside Asgore during most of the meeting, always ready to act. Not to mention the fact that Asgore hadn’t really said much to the others at the meeting except Sans, and though he was the one who had come up with the plan, everything just smelled so damn fishy.

_So, maybe Sans and Asgore hide things from the rest of the group too?_

That could be the case. Maybe they were planning something that they knew the others wouldn’t approve of, which just made the secret so, so much worse than originally.

Frisk knew she had to watch her back from now on. One false move, and the whole thing could fall down like a house of cards. No more trusting Sans or finding him attractive. It all had to end here.

She was ripped out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder.

“let’s get to work sleeping beauty,” he said. Frisk moved to look into his eyes. After realizing how much danger she could be in, they weren’t as pretty as before. The light in his eyes could just as well be the light reflecting on a blade.

She cleared her throat to mask how dry her mouth felt all of a sudden.

“Yeah. Let’s.” She threw some locks of hair over her shoulder as she turned around. “Oh, and don’t forget to give me that life story afterwards. You owe me one now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Secrets huh? Could it perhaps have something to do with the plan? Or is it about something entirely different?  
> I could tell you, but that would ruin the surprise.


	8. Time for Training

Flirting with Sans, no matter how scary he could be, had proved to be funnier than expected. Frisk and him had done multiple rounds of scenarios, where Sans would change some phrases or minor details to challenge her into improvising on the spot. The very first round had been purely humorous pick-up lines to lighten up the mood, and Frisk had felt herself laughing along at his ridiculous one-liners too. It might not had been a realistic representation of how Michael would treat her on the date, but nonetheless it had been nice to have a gentle transition into her training. Sans had done what he could to make her comfortable in the beginning, but as the rounds had gone on and Frisk slowly had started growing far more confident with their banter, she had noticed how he had thrown small details into their conversation that had been intended for her to pick up on. In all the rounds it had been her goal to steal his wallet before either the date ended or Sans caught her in the act, and each time they had started anew, Frisk had turned around so he could hide it somewhere on him again. Up until now, she hadn’t successfully stolen his wallet, a fact that annoyed her endlessly. She consoled herself with the small victory of having stolen it on the street when it really counted. 

It also felt weird seeing him back with his wallet. The thing had been in her purse when they had met at Starbuns, and when he had brought her back to the mansion, he’d gone through it. Sans had explained when they had started the exercise, that her purse was under the bed she had woken up on. Not that she had anything valuable in it, as it only held her own wallet, a foldable knife, and some lock picking tools. Those three things had been must-haves for her as long as she had lived on the street and until now.

“Ohmygod, why can’t I just focus on this?” She groaned, hitting her head on the table. The light from the windows had ebbed away a while ago, and she and Sans were illuminated by the chandelier only. Her hands were colder than icicles by now, and so was the rest of her body. Her teeth chattered against the wooden table while her body trembled, though if that was from the cold or stress she couldn’t tell. At the beginning of the exercise, she’d been incredibly energetic, but after failing so many tries in a row, she found it hard to motivate herself further. It was fruitless, she thought, to steal a wallet from a target that knew it would happen.

Sparked by her own sudden genius, an idea made way to the front of her mind. With newfound energy, she lifted her head from the table, looking at her companion. A mischievous grin was gracing her lips.

“I just had the most brilliant idea, ever.” She revealed, watching as Sans cocked his head curiously. He was probably tired as well, judging by how his movements were slowing down.

“do tell.” He drawled, yawning immediately afterwards. They’d been in here for hours now. Their rounds had usually lasted an hour or more if they continued until the date ended, but there had been so many shorter rounds in between that had ended because Sans caught her trying to steal the wallet, that they both had grown tired of training, and the flirtatious banter had become silly. Frisk was willing to bet that it was because Sans turned to humor when he got tired, and that was why he had started using puns a lot more in their conversations. In contrast to their early rounds, their spirits weren’t as high anymore. If Sans hadn’t disappeared into the kitchen for some food halfway through to eat during one of their dates, Frisk feared she would have fainted. 

“If we keep going like this, one of us is going to fall down the chair, and I’m afraid that it’s gonna be me.” 

Sans nodded in agreement, which annoyed her a bit for some reason. She scoffed at his reaction, to which he just chuckled. He supported his head in his hand as he took a sip of the wine in his glass. Frisk had one too, though she had been sparse in drinking it. She didn’t want to risk losing her better judgement.

“How about we just end our training here today? It’s not like we’re getting anywhere right now, and if you disagree, I _will_ hit you with this bottle.” She threatened, picking up the empty wine bottle with a dangerous look in her eyes. Exhaustion made her pissy.

Sans set down his glass to say something, but before he could get a word out, Frisk held up a hand to stop him. She knew what he was going to say.

“Just... stop. We’ll continue tomorrow, end of discussion. I need some sleep. Hell, _you_ need some sleep.” She gestured with her hand in the air, coming to the point of her brilliant plan. “Besides, I just mentioned that I had a great idea, right? Our problem here isn’t that I suck at stealing wallets, as you of all people would know,” she briefly gloated, before quickly moving on, “our problem is that you know why I’m on this date. You know I want the wallet. Because you’re so prepared, I stand no chance of outsmarting you without an outstanding opportunity. What I need is an unsuspecting target to go on a date with me, who thinks I’m on the date to get to know them better. You see where I’m going with this?” She asked. Sans shook his head slowly, not quite following her lead. 

“Alright, what I’m saying is that I need to trick someone into going on a date with me, so that I can steal _their_ wallet unknowingly. It’s only real training if my target doesn’t know what’s going on!” She sighed. Now that he was catching on, he sat up straighter in his seat, the light in his eyes glowing brightly again. Before, they’d dimmed slowly over the evening.

“that’s… that’s actually not a bad idea.” He had to admit as he took another sip of red wine. Since he had already practically said they were done with the training, Frisk allowed herself a big swig too.

“That’s what I just said. Weren’t you listening? Or do you just assume that everything I say is going to be either dumb or useless?”

She looked up from her glass to find a smug smile on his face. 

“normally i wouldn’t answer that, but i’m afraid my silence would only _speak volumes_.” 

“Do you ever stop?” She groaned, but it was hard to run from the entertained smirk that grew on her lips.

Sans stood up to get the plates on the table next to theirs where they’d stored them after their dinner. Frisk stood too, eyeing the half-drunk wine glass on her side of the table before deciding she might as well. It was a bitter red wine that had come from the monsters’ cellar, and the taste made her scrunch up her nose. 

“You gonna finish that?” She asked, a finger pointing at his glass. There were still a couple swigs left in it, though he had already drunk some glasses before that. 

“nah, you can have it. i’m already drunk off your beauty,” he flirted half-heartedly, but after doing it endlessly for so long, it had no effect on her anymore. 

Frisk downed the rest of the wine, not because she wanted to, but mostly because a part of her refused to throw out perfectly good alcohol. Since having very little things to her name was something she’d lived with forever, there hadn’t ever been a time where she wasted food or drinks. Sans didn’t seem to care so much.

They walked out of the hall, him carrying the plates and her carrying the glasses and empty bottle. On their way out, Sans turned off the light and left them enveloped in darkness.

Frisk walked some steps into the hallway, expecting him to turn on some new light as they went. When it didn’t happen, she twirled around questioningly.

“Are you just gonna stand there with your creepy eye lights being the only thing to see in the darkness, or are you actually gonna turn on the new light?” She asked, unnervingly noticing how terrifying his eyes were when it was pitch black around them. She couldn’t even see his skull; it was _that_ dark.

He threw out some curses, telling her to wait a second. She did, tapping her foot nervously against the floor. Ever since she found out Asgore and him were hiding something from her, she tuned into even the smallest things that felt slightly off, like the current lack of light. 

Hopefully, it wasn’t because they were planning something devilish that required her to be disoriented in darkness. Still, a knot was forming in her stomach for every passing second that he didn’t turn on the light. If he continued this way, she was walking back to the hall to turn on the damn chandelier. 

“What’s the hold-up?” She hissed, feeling chillier than before. The wind was blowing fast outside, and with the lack of light and Sans’ shady character, she most of all wanted to run away. Safe to say, she was a tad bit skittish. 

“there.” He finally said, hand outstretched with a blue light emanating from it. It lit up nicely around them but was nowhere as good as a normal lamp. The walls tinted dark blue, as did his skull. 

“What’s wrong with normal ceiling lights?” She asked, already on her way back to the stairs. Now that she could see mostly where she was going, she wanted nothing more than to get to somewhere that was warmer.

Frisk wasn’t actually scared of the dark, though wary was probably a better word for it. Then again, her heart was beating pretty fast in her chest. Would it be like this every time something unusual happened in his presence? Would she automatically assume it had something to do with him and Asgore’s secret? In that case, this was going to be a very long job.

She saw the stupidity in that before they could walk far. She sighed.

He was quick to catch up with her, holding the plates in one hand and his other outstretched to light the way. Not that she would admit it, considering he wasn’t totally honest with her, but with him walking next to her, the darkness didn’t feel as suffocatingly scary.

“i forgot the power up here doesn’t work,” he apologized, and judging by his voice it sounded genuine enough. “asgore had the electricity fixed for the dining halls and the first floor only, so they’re the only rooms with working electricity. i’m sorry, sleeping beauty.”

The explanation seemed realistic, so Frisk relaxed her tense shoulders. Why did she have to overreact, she asked herself. Besides, at least they weren’t left stumbling in the dark now that Sans had his magic to illuminate their surroundings. Still, the orphanage rose ominously around her in the scarce light. The dusty paintings looked like something straight out of a horror movie, and with their steps echoing off the walls as the only noise to be heard, it was hard not to expect a serial killer to show up behind them. She decided to share her newfound view with Sans. Maybe buying a castle wasn’t a good idea.

“Ever considered earning money by turning this place into a haunted mansion? You sure do have the qualities to make it work…” She whispered, shivering from a chill down her spine. “You and Papyrus could jump out from one of the doors and scare people.”

At that, Sans laughed. The cutlery clattered on the plate as his body shook.

“not a bad idea. bet alphys could fix up some scary sounds to hide around the place. when’s it halloween again?” 

“Next month. If the job drags out long enough, I’ll gladly help you set it up, as long as I get to be one of the actors that scare people. How do you think I’d look in a ghost costume?” She joked awkwardly. Like Sans, she’d turned to humor, though this time it was to block out the shifty shadows casting from the blue light.

To her surprise, Sans coughed uncomfortably. If he hadn’t spoken up, she would’ve just thought it was because of the darkness as well.

“about that talk we had earlier…” He started, deadpanning Frisk as he continued. She could already tell she’d said something insensitive about Halloween.

“Aw, shit!” She exclaimed, feeling thoroughly like an idiot. Of course, dressing up as a ghost would be problematic. “I’m sorry about that comment, Sans.” 

“you misunderstand me, queen z’s. it’s not bad to dress up as us, but it’s bad to impersonate us in a stereotyping way, you get what i’m saying? i find it hilarious when you humans dress up as me. just don’t go around saying boo to everyone as a ghost. i know a ghost or two, and they’re much more than a wailing thing, telling everyone boo.”

Understanding her mistake, Frisk nodded. “But then, is a haunted house not… insensitive in general?” She asked, trying to understand how far it went.

“to some monsters. mostly the old ones. me, personally, find it kinda funny that people would be scared of a skeleton in a closet, but i don’t mind. to me, it’s all in good fun.”

Her brain tried to wrap around it, but she found it a terribly two-sided topic. Hadn’t he just told her yes and no in the same sentence?

“Then can I dress up as a ghost and scare people or not?” She blatantly asked, not because she wanted to do it anymore, but because she really needed a clear answer. She didn’t want to go around insulting monsters.

To her surprise, he didn’t answer right away. They made it to the main staircase before he spoke up.

“yes and no.” He said. Frisk groaned in annoyance, simply wanting a straight answer. “whaddya want me to say? i’ve already told you my opinion on it. i don’t speak for everyone. ask a ghost.” He shrugged, the cutlery moving against the porcelain. Frisk could see the sense in that, no matter how frustrating the topic had easily become. Sans might be fine with it, but Papyrus might mean something else, and Undyne something else entirely, and Asgore a whole different thing. What would she follow then?

“Maybe we should just cancel Halloween from now on,” she sighed, tired from thinking about how dressing up as monsters for Halloween was actually really racist.

Sans laughed it off, shoving her with his shoulder. “well, it could use fine-tuning at least. most of the problems would actually go away if people stopped stereotyping us as much as they do.”

“I can totally understand that. I bet it sucks so fucking much to be judged before people even have a real conversation with you. I’m sorry. If I ever do that, will you promise to slap me across the head?”

They’d reached the spiral staircase to the kitchen, and Frisk suddenly felt anxious about going down a dark staircase with glass in her hands. However, she was quick to push it away, and climbed down to the first floor.

“sure. though i’m convinced you know better than that, otherwise you wouldn’t be here right now.” Sans admitted, having let her walk down the stairs first.

Scared of his comment about how she “ _wouldn’t be here_ ” if he’d thought differently of her, she cleared her throat, thinking of a way to change the subject.

“What about Dracula though? Or witches. They’re not actual monsters, to be fair.” She countered. 

He hummed momentarily before setting the dirty dishes near the sink and signaled Frisk to do the same. “witches stem off your mages, so i wouldn’t worry about monsters being insulted about that. vampires though, are okay, i guess. haven’t ever met a monster like that, and i’ve lived for a long time, snoozy lucy. we get as offended from it as you do, probably. in my head i say go for it.”

_Snoozy Lucy? He couldn’t come up with something better?_

“Yeah, but you said that about dressing up as a ghost too!” She whined, sitting herself on the counter as she forgot her hurry to get back somewhere warmer. Whereas she had found the orphanage to look like the backdrop of a horror movie earlier, she now found the dark blue kitchen to be cozy. It was also one of the only totally renovated rooms with modern appliances.

Sans stepped in front of her, a hand on each side of her on the counter. His hand still glowed, and this close it created a small blue dot on her vision.

“no, i said that i wouldn’t mind people dressing up as a skeleton. ghosts have far more stereotypes attached, so for me to speak on their behalf would be totally unfair. it’s like asking a white human to speak on behalf of a native american human. would _you_ do it?”

She stared into his eyes, shaking her head. Once again, he made a fair point. She’d never allow someone to dress up like an Indian when it wasn’t her place to do so. Dammit, would she ever learn? It was supposed to be so easy, so how come she kept messing up? How hard could it be to treat everyone like she wanted to be treated?

“Sans, can I say one thing before we go to bed?” She asked with one hand scratching her scalp and the other a fist in her lap.

The skeleton leaned closer to her, stopping merely a very small distance away from her face. “knowing you, you’ll probably not be able to say only one thing. i wager that you can’t.”

Confused, she said “what?” before shaking her head to clear it from sleep. She was too tired to understand anything but clear sentences.

“I meant, like, can I just get one last word in before we go?” She tried again, hoping he would keep his answer understandable that time.

For a moment he looked as if he was going to say something mischievous, but then it turned into a pretty smile instead. 

“of course, you can snoozy.”

_Not a better name. Try again._

“I’m not dumb, alright? I know I have it easier than you do. Most monsters stay around Ebott, so I don’t see it every day, but from what you’ve told me and what I’ve seen for myself, humans treat you… differently. I’ll be honest, I’ll never know what that feels like. Even in my dirtiest outfit and you in your fanciest, I’ll be given less judgmental stares than you, when we walk on the street. I even used it a bit to my advantage when I tried to steal your wallet…” She buried her face in her hands. Being a monster had to suck. Despite their powers and genius inventions, they were always looked down upon for no good reason at all.

“cut it out.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and removed her hands from her face. “i don’t want your pity.”

Frisk immediately waved her hands in negation, knowing she had to reformulate.

“That’s not it at all! I’m saying that I’ll have a tougher time seeing the wrong in my acts sometimes, because I haven’t experienced racism like you have. I don’t necessarily notice when I say something insensitive, because I’m not used to being offended by those comments. I never get them. See, if we’re talking about comments about wealth or the environment I grew up in, I’m way more sensitive about what I ask people about, because I know how it hurts, when you ask me why I lived on the street. I wish I knew automatically when I’m being a dick, but unfortunately, I hope that I can count on you to correct me. I know that’s not something that should necessarily be _your_ role, but I’m asking you this as a friend. If you don’t teach me, I don’t know who will.”

The silence stretched on for a little bit, where Sans stood with his face merely inches from hers. His eyes glittered in the blue lighting as he mulled her words over, and while he did so, Frisk placed a hand over his on her shoulder.

“ _Please_?” She tried. “You already promised me. You help me with monster culture, I help you with human culture.”

Thinking back to their talk before Frisk’s training no doubt, he nodded slowly. Frisk could finally let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“when you ask me like that…” He sighed, hand going to his forehead as he shook his head, probably regretting his decision a bit. “how can i say no when you’re actually trying to understand?”

She shrieked happily, arms going around his neck. She muttered all kinds of thanks as she felt his arms going around her hesitantly. Awkwardly, he clapped her back a couple times before letting go.

Frisk moved back from him too, shifting some loose hair away from her eyes. A relieved chuckle came from her when she realized how dangerous it could be to say the wrong thing to a monster. How most humans got away with being racist, she couldn’t quite understand, when monsters literally walked around with powers like summoning fire balls. At least now she would have a lifeline if she accidentally said something insulting to one of the monsters.

Besides, it wasn’t as if she actively tried to hurt them with comments like the ghost costume one. If she’d been in their shoes, she’d probably be pissed off about the never-ending stereotyping too.

“That means a lot to me. Thank you,” she ended her line of thanking. Making sure not to step on his feet, she pushed down from the counter, and suddenly stood a lot closer to Sans than intended. Instinctively, she held her breath.

Frisk put her hands against his chest, gently trying to get him to take a step back. He still stood with his hands on either side of her, though his face had moved back when she jumped down from her seat. A sudden warmness started to spread in her body, but it was the one in her cheeks that she noticed first. Why she all of a sudden was affected by his nearness, she didn’t know the answer to. Previously that day, they’d almost had sex, for crying out loud. Standing next to him shouldn’t be a problem at all.

“Uh, h-hi.” She stammered, not really knowing where to look or why he wasn’t moving away.

_Why isn’t he moving?_

His hand to her left moved to her hip. This was taking a turn she hadn’t really expected. Were they still doing the exercise? Was this a part of her training?

_Training, huh?_

“hiya.” He said shortly, cutting off the few extra inches he’d put between their faces immediately. Before Frisk knew what was happening, his mouth was on hers. Like they’d done earlier that day, she curiously opened her mouth for him, not completely understanding what he was doing, but oddly enough not minding it at all. His hands moved again, this time with one caressing her hair the other gliding over her ass when he pushed her back into the counter. She gasped against his tongue the moment it started dancing around hers.

The hand in her hair was careful not to pull on any of it. His hips brushed against hers exactly the same time he squeezed her ass.

She didn’t know how to react. Currently she was on autopilot and went along with his touch. There was just one little thing that bugged her; why was he doing this?

The thought of this not being solely for training was, to her surprise, actually not as transgressive as she would had imagined. Weirdly enough, it also sent butterflies down to her stomach as he deepened the kiss and their movements quickened.

But who was she kidding? Of course, this had to be training. Otherwise, why would he be doing this? To think he liked Frisk that way was purely hilarious to put it best.

The notion that him liking Frisk was a big joke, created a temporary wall around her heart, though she wouldn’t admit it. Briefly her hand on his chest ceased to travel curiously on his suit, luckily, he didn’t seem to notice.

A bit disheartened for no reason at all, Frisk broke free from the pity party faster than Sans had kissed her. She could enjoy the kiss without expecting anything from it.

With a gentle finger, she traced a line on his skull that left a tender blue light in its wake. She could feel him shiver underneath her touch. Now that she felt confident enough to kiss him back again, she used her other hand to cup his ass, though she found it very difficult as he didn’t exactly have one. Sure, her hand might not had found an ass to explore, but she’d found something far better.

 _If it’s training he wants, then it’s training he gets_ , her thoughts muttered silently among the thousands of other thoughts that ran wildly in her mind.

Her mind split into two, one concentrated on his ass, and the other concentrated on kissing him. He moaned delightfully into her mouth a couple times after she tickled his bones. The blue light in the room came from more places than just his hand now, and Frisk closed her eyes to better enjoy how it felt to have him kiss her. She didn’t know when she’d get the chance again.

_Alright, I can’t stay like this. Otherwise, it won’t work._

Frisk abruptly used the hand tracing lines on his bones to push him around, so that he was the one against the counter. Her other hand moved away from his ass, and she placed it on the counter, just like he had.

Her movement had caused him to chuckle lightly against her. Sadly, he ended their kiss then.

“you surprise me every time.” His voice was soft, but the voice in Frisk’s head told her it wasn’t because he actually liked her. There were plenty of other reasons for that.

She tried not to look too desperate to return to their kiss, so she looked away for a moment to gather her expression into something neutral-like, which was pretty harder than expected.

“Wait, what’s that?” She asked worriedly, pointing to her right. Sans followed her gaze and didn’t notice her hand on the countertop going behind her back. It returned to the countertop again before he could notice.

He squinted his eyes and put up his hand to shine its light at where she pointed. There wasn’t anything but an oven and kitchen utensils.

“Weird,” she shrugged, “I could’ve sworn I saw something.”

Sans looked back at her with confusion written all over his face. Frisk had to accept that the kiss wasn’t going to happen again, but somehow, she felt a bolt of satisfaction go through her anyway. Their training hadn’t been a total failure afterall.

“are you okay? maybe you need some sleep, sweetheart.”

The nickname sent a wave of new butterflies to her stomach again, and she cursed them far away. She had absolutely no reason to feel this way, none at all.

Swallowing some spit nervously, she nodded. “I’m alright. Just a long day, I think.”

At that, Sans could only agree. He looked tired as well. “i’ll show you back to your room then.”

Saddened that they had to split up, Frisk just shrugged as she took the arm he offered. An undeniable part of her wanted to stay up all night and keep training with him, no matter how exhausted she was.

They walked back to her room in lit-up hallways this time. The moment they reached her door, she turned around to say goodnight.

“Thanks for the help today,” she started. A lot of questions were running through her mind, all demanding answers _right now_. “Guess this is where we say goodnight?”

His low chuckle sent vibrations through her body, even though they weren’t standing as close as before. It was probably something she imagined.

Frisk looked down on her feet for a brief second, kicking the floor.

“yup. breakfast is at eight tomorrow morning, make sure you’re up by then. if ya need to use the shower you can use the common ones, nobody goes in there anyway. there are some on this floor, but i think the water pipes are good on all floors, so if ya want even more privacy ya can use those on the second floor. you decide. we have some extra towels lying around somewhere, i’ll make sure they’re in front of your door when you wake up.”

“Great. Thanks, Sans.” She looked up and into his eyes, trying to smile convincingly. There wasn’t a clue in her mind as to why her mood had gone sour.

“you’re welcome, sleeping beauty.” He winked, giving her shoulder a squeeze before walking off.

Frisk escaped into her room, locking the door shortly after. Leaning against the door with closed eyes, she sighed.

“Guess you’re gonna have to wait with getting this back, huh?” She whispered, feeling his wallet pressed in between the door and her pocket.


	9. Papyrus

To be fair, Sans had actually been nice enough to put a couple towels in front of her door, when she checked early morning. They looked brand new, the plush material not hardened by wash at all. The color looked charcoal as well, and not the washed-out black that Frisk’s own had turned into after countless amounts of washing. She brushed the fabric against her cheek momentarily. In these times, it was the small things that had to count.

The bed she had slept on last night had been wonderful too. The mattress hadn’t felt like stone like back at home, but had instead given her a good night's sleep. She was convinced that if it hadn’t been for her alarm on the phone, she would’ve slept all day. Sleeping in a closed-off bedroom was a nice change. It didn’t feel much different from sleeping alone in her apartment, but it certainly felt much better than sleeping in a living room with another person, as she’d done when Verna still lived with her. She was certainly reveling in having this much space to herself, especially as she didn’t have to worry about falling over her dirty dishes from the night before.

She threw the towel on her bed, dancing around herself as she laughed heartily. It felt so freeing to finally be out of that old apartment. The moldy interior aside, it was actually the memories attached to it that hang over her with a feeling of dread every time she was in it. Now that she was having a break from having to wake up and look at the same spot where her and Verna would sit and talk for hours, her heart felt lighter. A stone had really been lifted.

In the hurry Sans and Frisk had been in to get to the meeting with Asgore, they’d forgotten to pick up some of her clothes that she could change into. She didn’t mind wearing her outfit from yesterday again, but long-term it would be best that she had some here. Who knew for how long she’d stay here? Maybe the guys would need a human again some other time. A part of her kind of hoped so, at least.

She stopped herself so fast that she had to grab the dresser for support. She couldn’t stay. She knew that.

Asgore was hiding something from her, and until she found out what that was, she couldn’t afford to let her guard down. Sans and Asriel might seem nice, but that didn’t prove anything yet. Sans was in on it too.

Disheartened again, she pushed away from the dresser to pick up the towel. Hopefully they’d have some shampoo and soap in the common showers.

* * *

The showers on the second floor sounded tempting in the way that they were away from everyone else, but Frisk hoped that those on the first floor would be renovated. Privacy was the thing that counted most, but Sans had said yesterday that none of the monsters went in there anyway. They probably didn’t need to shower. She ended up going to those on the first floor. 

The common showers looked cold and uninviting. She had to be honest. The tiles were pure white hanging there on the walls, and the floor was a grey, smooth surface. The left wall was decorated with about seven shower heads spaced out between each other. There were drains between them, though it didn’t look like the floor angled downwards to prevent the water from spreading to the rest of the room. Frisk noticed that there weren’t any windows in there to let in some air or a ventilation system to prevent the walls from catching mold. It was painfully obvious that the monsters hadn’t stepped foot in this room since moving in. She thoroughly doubted that they had even renovated it. Looking over the sad excuse for a bathroom, she eyed the toilets on the right side of the wall, hidden behind plastic screens. If that was how the orphans lived when this was still an orphanage, Frisk really sent them her sympathy. Even her own bathroom, small as it might be, was better than this. Thinking of that, her previous excitement about living here for a longer period of time vanished totally. He didn’t seriously mean for her to shower in this mold hole?

 _Not like I have much choice,_ she mused as she stripped out of her clothes and hung it over one of the plastic screens, along with the towel.

She experimentally tried to turn on the water, and relaxed her tense shoulders when she found out that there was indeed hot water in here. No soap or shampoo, though. It irritated her that they would employ a human and then not research what they needed, though that was probably just because the damp smell in there was worsening her mood further. The hot water fell around her as she tried to wash off the bad thoughts that lived rent free in her head. She had always enjoyed showers hot enough to scorch her skin.

She stood there for some time before she abruptly doubled over in pain. Out of nowhere, a heavy pressure had been put on her chest as if someone had just sat on it. Frantically, she grasped her chest, heaving after air. Her hands chilled to ice at the touch, as had her legs started shaking from numbness.

Frisk moved to stand with her back against the cold tiles as she tried to catch her breath, otherwise she would have lost balance. Her breathing came in quick gasps, like her air came in through a straw. She glided down the wall to sit on the floor, her face broken into a grimace. The shower continued over her, rushing on as if she hadn’t just been hit by another wave of discomfort. 

Most of all, she wanted Sans to sit next to her while they waited it out, like they’d done yesterday, but the mere thought only resulted in a scolding. How could she think of him in a time like this? If Verna had taught her anything at all, it was that she was better off alone.

The first sign that she was going crazy, was that despite the fact that there wasn’t a single drop of red to be seen, her nose felt violated by a strong incense of metallic blood.

When the water trickled down her face and made it harder to breathe, she forced herself to use some of her energy to turn it off. Her arm trembled as she did it, but it stopped when she hugged her legs close to her chest. She shut her eyes and concentrated on breathing evenly, but saw with terror as images danced before her eyes. 

Images she didn’t really want to remember.

“No-“ She whimpered, tightening the grip on her body. It wasn’t long before she frantically opened her eyes again to break away from the scene that played out every time she closed them.

She wet her lips, and tasted salt on her tongue. She brought a careful hand to her cheek, but everything was wet anyway. Every muscle in her body tensed, ready to run if she had to, though the tremors didn’t agree. 

The entire room suddenly buzzed to life with noise, partly voices, partly gunshots, and partly screams. From the corners of the room, horrifying excuses for faces came crawling out of the dark, moving with spider-like limbs. Not exactly as she remembered them, but much, much worse. She knew them all. 

“ **_MURDERER!_ **”

One of the faces was too familiar, blood running from its eye, and its mouth shaped in an endless scream. It came closer as it screamed at her, so close that Frisk could count the flies flying in and out of its mouth. 

“ **_HELP ME!_ **”

Its teeth were stained red with blood, dripping onto the sickly pale hand that it was reaching out towards Frisk, who pressed against the tiles, terrified. The fingers were inhumanly long and had sharp nails that resembled claws, claws that were scratching at her legs now-

The water pooling around her turned dark red. She screamed as loudly as she could, kicking at the face to make it go away. If she could, she would have ran.

Her ears were ringing then, ringing constantly, ringing so loudly that she thought it would be impossible to hear anything else, yet everything was starkly clear, and it hurt so fucking much-

“ **_YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO SEE THAT._ **” The face hissed menacingly to Frisk.

“ **_R U N._ **”

And for a moment, it felt as if she did. It felt as if Frisk was running through a never-ending corridor, fearing for her life. It felt like she was stumbling over her feet to get to the end to find help, it felt like she didn’t have any air left in her lungs, it felt like her body was on fire, it felt like-

And it all disappeared as fast as it’d come. At first Frisk was too busy heaving for air to notice what had brought her back to reality, until there was another knock on the door.

“Hey new guy, you in there?!” Undyne shouted from outside. Frisk couldn’t focus enough to answer, she could only concentrate on how her chest felt, as it rose again and again with every breath.

It had felt so real. Their faces had looked so real. Their screams had echoed off the walls like they’d done last year.

“I SAID, are you in there?!” She yelled again, this time almost knocking the door off its hinges with her brute force.

Unable to speak, Frisk could only hate herself as the words caught in her throat. It was impossible to do anything. As much as she wanted to yell an answer, she couldn’t muster up more than a whisper. Feeling useless, she buried her face in her legs, feeling small droplets on her thighs. To her relief, there wasn’t actually any blood.

Maybe she’d experienced a panic attack, she wondered. Though she couldn’t put a finger on what triggered it, it was the only explanation she had. An entire week after the accident, she’d had nightmares about it as well. But why would the trauma resurface right now, in the middle of something totally unrelated? It didn’t make any sense.

Someone other than Undyne mumbled outside the door. The voice was low, and she guessed it to be either Sans or Asgore. Unless she wanted them to stumble inside while she was butt naked, she’d better get her voice in shape fast.

She coughed, hoping the sound would stop the relentless knocking. “In here!” 

“Wait, I hear something. Think it’s her.” Undyne said to the other voice, stopping her harassment of the door.

“Out in a moment,” she rasped as loudly as she could muster, eyeing her clothes on the screen. They felt a mile away. The embarrassment from being found naked won over it though, which forced her to stand up on shaky legs while clutching on to the wall.

“breakfast has been ready for some time now. uh, asgore is a bit confused as to why ya aren’t there yet. should i tell him you’re on your way?” Sans spoke up, identifying himself as the voice Undyne had talked to. 

_How can it be eight already when it was seven when I went in here?_

“Calm down sugar!” She yelled back, only having to repeat it once. “On my way!”

Frisk’s body returned back to normal quicker than anticipated, which meant that the tremors were gone and her voice just needed a little warming up. Steps echoed from the hall as she heard them walk away, talking amongst themselves. When she made it to her pants, she checked the time on her phone. Shockingly enough, it was a fair bit past eight. How had so much time passed? She was absolutely sure of the fact that she had gone in here at seven. The only thing that could have had an effect would be the panic attack, as she was referring to it now. Yet it was still a lot of time unaccounted for. It worried her a lot.

Also, her head was pounding with an insistent headache.

* * *

When she finally found the group of monsters sitting in the dining hall, she was out of breath. She’d run all the way from her room after realizing she didn’t have a brush, and honestly didn’t bother to hide the mess after everything that had happened to her this morning. It was already off to a shitty start.

“I am _so_ sorry! I completely lost track of time in there,” she apologized, sitting down on the only available seat next to dr. Alphys. Everyone was sitting at a long table, Asgore at the end with Asriel and Sans on his sides. Papyrus and Mettaton were on Sans’ side of the table, and Undyne and Alphys had made space for Frisk at their side. The table was decorated with colorful food of all types, fruit, bread and pastries alike. It was unlike any breakfast she’d ever been a part of before, and she noticed her teeth water. The delicious smell of newly baked bread and coffee rose from the center of the table, tickling her nose.

Asgore simply glanced briefly up from his plate before removing his gaze back. “Ah, Ms. Johnson, glad you could join us. Please take what you wish. Sans will start your training after the meal.”

She nodded, keeping her hands in a short leash as she took food onto her plate. She didn’t want to seem greedy. 

Around the table she noticed that the monsters were almost done with their plates, even though they engaged in natural conversation as they ate. Alphys and Undyne chattered about what was going on in the lab, Mettaton and Papyrus gossiped about a new tv-star that they both meant Mettaton could beat in an instant, and Asgore and Asriel exchanged the occasional comment about something as bland as the weather. Sans and Frisk sat completely silent at their ends of their table. She allowed herself to glance at him for just a second to satisfy her curiosity, but when she did it, Sans was staring right back. Embarrassed, Frisk looked away to pick up the pot of coffee and pour it into her cup. Her hands trembled still, though she wasn’t sure if it was a leftover side effect from the panic attack or just the nervousness that came with his gaze. 

With her fork, she picked at the food on her plate. Her brain told her to dig in and enjoy the free food, but now that she had time to think about her accidents, they were just sitting at the front of her mind, harshly demanding answers. The last one had really scared her. She wondered if they’d heard her scream, or if that was her imagination too.

Maybe Alphys had found a drug in her blood, actually. Now that she remembered, the whole reason why she’d agreed to do this was because Sans had promised to look into her fainting. Putting down her fork, Frisk nudged the dinosaur beside her gently. Both Undyne and Alphys turned to her at once.

“Uh, Dr. Alphys?” 

“Yes?” She answered, her head cocked. Undyne furrowed her brows, but otherwise didn’t do anything but scowl at her, which came as a bit of a surprise to Frisk. She’d expected something scarier than that.

“Have you found any signs of drugs in my system yet?” Frisk asked, and was confused when she saw Undyne’s eyes widen in shock. She looked just as taken aback as Frisk had after fainting.

“Drugs? Sweetie, why didn’t you tell me you were looking for _drugs_ in her blood sample?” She exclaimed so loudly that the entire table heard. Frisk cringed into her chair, avoiding everyone’s gaze. This was about to become very awkward, as she could confirm when literally everyone but Asgore, Alphys and Sans started pouring out questions.

Especially Mettaton looked ghastly at the revelation, with his mouth open in shock. “Sansy, darling, you picked up a drug addict?!” He scowled at her. “How low we have to sink in these times. I’ve told you Asgore, we would be better off without a human in here.”

Papyrus placed a hand on Mettaton’s shoulder, while he shook his head. At least Frisk could count on him to defend her, now that Sans hadn’t stepped up yet. The tension around the table grew thicker than Frisk had hoped, and she watched in horror as the crew started arguing about whether she should stay or not, right in front of her face. Out of everything she could do, she wished she had the bravery to stand up and yell that she was sitting right _here_. Everyone spoke so loudly that their voices merged together and were impossible to tangle into some intelligible. Desperate for someone to take her side, she looked at Sans for some support. It didn’t work, because he was in a heated discussion with Asgore that she couldn’t hear from her side of the table. If things continued on like this, they’d hype each other up enough to decide she shouldn’t stay, which really couldn’t happen or Frisk would stand without an income until she could get a new job. It would probably send her into the streets again. Great.

Trying again to gain support, she turned to Asriel. He was harder to see behind Undyne, but when they got eye contact, he shrugged while his eyes burned with pain. “Sorry,” he mouthed.

That was it. She knew that if no one else would stand up for her, she had to do so herself. If that was what it took, then she would prove that she deserved to be here. Meanwhile she spoke encouraging words to herself, she gulped down the entire cup of coffee. It burned on her tongue, but she was pretty sure Sans had seen her take a sip, and she wasn’t about to look like she was too scared to drink hot coffee. Before she could force herself to stand up, she made sure that she’d taken a large mouthful of air. 

Then, elegant as she was, she stood up and pounded the table with her fist hard enough to send ripples in Alphys’ water.

“That’s enough of that, thank you!” She boomed over the voices, trying to imagine herself as the big, intimidating Asgore. It helped boost her ego a bit.

Just for a moment there was silence, but Frisk noticed Mettaton opening his mouth almost immediately afterwards, scowling accusingly. Frisk was quicker than he was, thankfully.

“No! You can stay quiet for two minutes while I explain!” She put her hands on her hips, glaring daggers at the damn robot. “I have a right to speak on this too!”

Her words had barely any effect on him, and had it not been for Sans’ pointed look, Mettaton would probably have kept talking.

“let her talk for once.” Sans had his arms lying on the table, watching Frisk closely as she stood at the end of the table. She’d moved away from Alphys, just so the poor thing wouldn’t become deaf from Frisk’s voice.

She nodded gratefully at Sans, leaning over the table with her hands gripping the edges.

“I can’t believe I actually have to defend myself like this,” she accused, glancing briefly at a certain someone, “but it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t desperate. Look around, you guys. How are you going to get near the person who hates monsters the most in the world to get his damn keycard? You need me. Admit it. You haven’t even heard the full story of why Alphys checked my blood for drugs, so don’t jump to conclusions unless you wanna see my talented ass out the door.”

Sans was about to say something, but Frisk held up a hand. “Sans. Please. It can wait.”

He shrugged, hopefully realizing that he’d just lectured Mettaton on interrupting.

“I passed out on the way here, and I had a brief theory that it was because I was drugged back at the Starbuns me and Sans met at. At first I thought one of you had done it, but now I’m starting to think it might not be. I got Alphys to test me just to be on the safe side, since we still don’t know why I keep experiencing these weird things-“

“woah, again?!” Sans erupted, earning a tired glance from Frisk. “right… i should shut up,” he muttered.

“Anyway, I don’t do drugs if that’s what you’re wondering,” she squinted her eyes at Mettaton, earning the same in return. “And I’m actually amazingly good at what I do. Who’s your best thief here besides Asgore?” She asked, pretty sure she already knew the answer.

Without skipping a beat, Asriel said “Sans,” and all eyes turned to look at the taken aback skeleton. Sans put his hands up in a shrug, not confirming nor denying it. Around the table Frisk saw the monsters nod in unison. 

“Honestly, he’s probably even better than dad.” Asriel said, making Asgore cough as something caught in his throat. 

“W-what?” He sputtered, gazing at his son with hurt in his eyes. 

Frisk sighed, thinking of what to do to get their attention. What stunt could she pull now? She’d been planning on using the “I bested Sans out on the street” card, but that seemed boring by now. He’d been unprepared anyway.

_Unprepared you say?_

Then her gaze fell upon the guy in the blue suit, and she felt her lips curl into a mischievous smile. Sans turned to look at her just as the idea blossomed in her mind. He lifted a brow, wondering what she was up to now, no doubt.

It was gonna be good.

“Either way, we can agree that Sans is really skilled. That’s why he’s the one training me, and also why he was the one you sent out on the streets to find a new member. Yesterday we did a couple date rounds where I had to steal Sans’ wallet before the date was over or I failed, and trust me when I say I did so miserably.”

Sans chuckled deeply, nodding his head. “miserably.”

“To be fair, it’s impossible to steal a wallet from Sans if he knows it’s going to happen. I was put up with an impossible task, alright?”

Just in case she’d forgotten it, she tapped her ass momentarily. It was still where she’d left it.

“Either way Sans, I think everyone would like to see where your wallet is now. You left it in that very suit, right?” She asked nonchalantly. Her heart was beating faster and faster, and she felt incredibly smug if she had to be honest. She hoped that it would impress them enough to let her stay.

Sans shrugged again, clapping his suit after his wallet. After several seconds of no results, Frisk had to let out a small laugh.

“Let me help you with that.” She said sweetly, walking over to stand behind his chair, arms going around his neck. “I kept it for you, just in case you’d lose it again.” 

She freed an arm to grab the wallet, holding it teasingly in front of him with her lips right next to where his ear would’ve been. All eyes widened in shock, but especially Undyne’s face was priceless. Frisk couldn’t see the expressions on this side of the table very well, but she wished she’d gotten to see Mettaton’s.

Undyne guffawed suddenly, clapping Asriel’s back in her hysterical state. “LOOK AT HIM!” She pointed at Sans, who Frisk instantly wanted to see the expression of. She dropped the wallet on a clear part of the table, walking back to stand at the end of it, where she could finally see the humorous faces of Sans and Mettaton.

Mettaton, honestly, looked like he’d seen someone kill a litter of kittens. His eyes were bigger than teacups and his mouth was shaped in an ‘o’. He stammered on, trying to find something that would disregard the talent needed to steal _twice_ from Sans, even when he knew it’d happen.

Sans, however, had the expression of someone who had just been pranked. He looked proud, confused and angry at the same time. He shook his head as he held his wallet in his grip, assessing it to confirm that it was indeed his wallet. The pictures inside were the same as always, and the cards in there Frisk knew by heart.

Alright. She was proud of herself, too. A part of her had thought Sans had pretended not to notice for the joke of it, but seeing his face like that, it convinced her that wasn’t the case.

Undyne laughed still, Asriel joining in on the fun. Their eyes were full of tears from laughing too hard, and they barely took one glance at Sans before they erupted into a new chorus of laughter. Frisk had to smile too, but this time genuinely. They had great friendships here.

“NYEH HEHEHEH!” Papyrus started from his place next to Sans, bowing over in laughter too, as he punched his brother on the arm. “SHE GOT YOU GOOD, BROTHER!”

Asgore hid his mouth behind a paw, but Frisk could swear his eyes sparkled with humor as well. She glanced at Alphys, who was actually staring at Frisk. She cocked her head.

“H-how did you do that?” She asked, excitement covering her sweet voice. Her claws had left marks on the wooden table where she’d been excitedly gripping it. “T-that’s so c-cool!”

Frisk blushed. Was it really that cool? 

“Hell yeah it is!” Undyne had a permanent grin on her face and an arm around Alphys. The other hand was used to pound the table. “How’d you do it?!”

At Undyne’s question, an abrupt silence fell over the table as they stopped their banter to concentrate on Frisk. Even Mettaton looked curious.

She gulped nervously, knowing that there was no easy way to describe what had happened in the kitchen last night. Knowing Sans, he’d be no help at all.

Well, what was there to be ashamed of? The kiss had been for training purposes anyway. Still, she glanced at Sans to see if there was any emotion or clue to read on him. As expected, there wasn’t any change in his expression. He still looked as awe-struck as he had before.

The chandelier felt like a spotlight as she stood there, pondering over her words. 

“It’s true, I failed miserably in the dining hall when we did our rounds. Either he caught me, or I didn’t do anything until the date was over. It wasn’t until we returned to the kitchen with the dishes that Sans had let his guard down enough to let me snatch his wallet, actually. In theme with my job, I distracted him with a kiss,” she said proudly, lifting her chin instinctively. 

She shouldn’t have said that.

Sans started choking, his white skull glowing a bright red with no warning at all. The monsters looked shocked, every single one of them. Mettaton looked disgusted.

“I can’t believe you let her _kiss_ you, Sansy!” He gasped as he brought a hand to cover his mouth in shock.

Sans whipped back into his normal self almost instantly, though still with a violent blush covering his skull. “i can’t believe my brother lets _you_ kiss him. especially with that dirty mouth. didn’t anyone teach you manners?”

_Papyrus and Mettaton are an item?_

She barely had time to revel over the fact that Sans for the first time defended her, though it probably wasn’t on purpose, but rather a way to insult his brother’s boyfriend.

“Why, you-!” Mettaton puffed out his chest, pointing accusatory at Sans by leaning over Papyrus, who looked very uncomfortable with this. His skull also had a little red blush under his eyes, and he radiated every bit like someone who wanted to die.

Frisk, realizing it may be a while, pushed her chair over to her new spot at the table. No one noticed, they were too caught up in Sans’ and Mettaton’s argument. Not that she didn’t want to sit next to Alphys, but she liked being able to see everyone better. 

As Sans and Mettaton started a new argument at the table, Frisk finished her breakfast. It was nice not to be the center of attention for a moment, with the exception of Alphys, of course. She kept asking questions, like how Sans hadn’t felt her take it, or how she came up with the idea. 

“It just- it just came up in my mind. I’m a quick thinker, I guess.” Frisk shrugged, munching on a danish. It had cream on the inside. 

Alphys sighed wistfully as she listened to Frisk’s answers, though Frisk was surprised that she could hear a word she said with the consistent shouting from her right side. 

“You have _always_ been jealous of us!”

“of what? being with an egotistical fool who can’t see over his own fake nose?”

“I’ll let you know that Alphys designed this very-”

“U-uh Frisk, can I ask y-you something u-unrelated?” Alphys stuttered, stealing Frisk’s attention away from Sans’ answer. It timed perfectly with the last bite of food on her plate.

“Sure. Shoot away.” She said, pouring a little sip of coffee into her cup. While Alphys talked, she drank it.

“A-aren’t you scared o-of us? I m-mean you d-don’t even know w-where you are.”

Frisk put a gentle hand on the doctor’s shoulder, smiling while doing it. “Do I have a reason to? I chose to be here.”

She noticed Mettaton pushing up from his chair as he gestured wildly at Sans, Papyrus ducking and hiding his face in his hands. Sans also stood up, and no one seemed to do anything about it. Mettaton screamed at Sans that he was incredibly small-minded, and kept the insults coming for a long time. 

Undyne didn’t look bothered at all, though Asriel grimaced next to her. He elbowed his dad, but Asgore shook his head. None of them wanted to interfere.

Alphys opened her mouth to say something else, but Frisk stopped her with a new smile.

“I think I have to go now. Let’s definitely speak another time, alright? Come by my room anytime.” 

She stood up, walking to stand between the skeleton brothers’ chairs. The robot kept going behind her, never skipping a beat in his new and creative insults. 

“Papyrus, are you okay?” She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked tired as he shook his head. “Would you maybe be interested in showing me the mansion? I haven’t seen it all yet.” She tried, hoping he would say yes, so that he didn’t have to listen to Sans’ and Mettaton’s childish squabbles. 

Papyrus gazed up at her with a hopeful smile. “WHY OF COURSE! I’M ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP. LET’S GO RIGHT NOW.”

Frisk nodded, and told him to wait for her outside the dining hall. He took the excuse to leave instantly, almost running off. When he was outside, Frisk turned to Sans.

“Are you stupid?” She asked coldly. Sans fixed his eyes on her, ignoring Mettaton. 

“whaddya mean? we’ll train later. we have all day.”

“Hell yeah we do! Because if you and Mettaton don’t get your problems sorted out, you’re both going to drive Papyrus insane!” She yelled, jabbing a finger in his chest, also shooting Mettaton a glare. They both looked down at their feet, embarrassed by their behaviour. This was the first time she saw Mettaton show something other than anger. 

“If you need me, Papyrus will be showing me around the house. I think he’ll enjoy being with someone who doesn’t talk about how much they hate one of the monsters he loves. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves, letting Papyrus see you like that. At least act civil when he’s there.” She hissed, gently swatting Sans on the arm. He didn’t look her in the eyes.

Frisk ran a hand through her hair, noticing the tangles. She must look completely crazy.

“Also, I need some of my things. Asgore is it okay if I go get them later?” She asked, not sure if he’d say yes or not. 

He locked gazes with Sans.

“Sans will take you wherever you need to go after your training.”

She shrugged, walking off without saying more. It pissed her off that Sans and Mettaton hated each other enough to fight like that when Papyrus was _right there._ It was his own brother and boyfriend, and if they couldn’t get along, then it was bound to be a nightmare.

How did he survive that?

Frisk caught up with him further down the hallway, where he had waited patiently wearing a bright smile. She liked him a lot, as she felt like his happiness rubbed off on her. 

The skeleton looked giant as he stood there with his hands on his hips. Even his black and white suit was bigger than Frisk could imagine they sold in normal stores.

“ARE YOU READY TO GO, MS. JOHNSON?” He asked, arm out for her to take. She did so graciously. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be, Mr. Papyrus.” 

* * *

Papyrus showed her the rest of the floors, though they looked almost identical to the second floor. Dreadfully boring, and cold to the touch. Nothing felt isolated, although Frisk’s newfound sensitivity to cold temperatures probably didn’t help either. She really needed to put an end to these weird side effects.

_Side effects of what though?_

Walking with Papyrus was actually pretty nice. He was good at keeping a conversation going, and didn’t mind talking a lot when Frisk zoned out. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to listen to him, but with everything happening to her right now, it was just impossible to clear her mind. She had so many concerns that they had to wait in line to be addressed, just like she’d had to move her oncoming feelings for Sans to the back of her mind until she’d solved the most demanding problems first. If she didn’t figure out soon what these panic attacks, or accidents, or _whatever_ , was, then she feared it would have some consequences she didn’t like. 

Did it have something to do with Verna? Well, to be fair she’d had that hallucination in the showers, and that was the only real thing that could tie them together. Maybe Frisk really was falling back into her previous grief, in a weird, suspicious way. 

But that was just it; if Verna was the reason why, then it didn’t make sense why it would happen now. Frisk had gotten over her after a bit of time to the best of her efforts. It couldn’t be her.

Something was missing here. There was a missing piece that Frisk needed to see the whole picture.

It had all started after meeting Sans. Specifically, after they’d walked out of the coffee shop. Alphys hadn’t gotten back to her with the results, but if her blood didn’t show any signs of drugs, then she didn’t know where to start. Nothing besides Sans and her hot chocolate had been out of the ordinary.

Papyrus led her to the very top floor, number four. Same as everything else, with covered windows. Apparently, Asgore didn’t know that she’d already seen the outside, which earned Sans a few extra points in her book. He was alright, if you saw past his idiocy at breakfast, and his secrets. At least he tried to befriend her, unlike some of the others. That his friendship only confused her, was a whole other thing.

“You could drive a hotel in this place,” she fished when Papyrus had shown her the last dining hall. She wanted to know what he thought of Sans’ idea.

Papyrus whipped his skull to look at her with a bright light in his eyes. “YOU THINK SO? SANS THINKS SO TOO. I THINK IT’S A GREAT IDEA! I COULD BE THE COOK AND DRIVE MY OWN RESTAURANT HERE! UNDYNE WOULD BE THE BEST ASSISTANT CHEF IN THE WHOLE WORLD.”

Frisk laughed, leaning closer to the arm she was holding for a moment. His enthusiasm was something she could learn from.

Papyrus offered to show Frisk his own room, as they’d seen everything else. She nodded, and they continued their conversation as they walked down the main staircase.

“I think it’s a great idea. With a few loving hands and some elbow grease, it could be a five-star hotel without a doubt. I’d visit it regularly to eat the food from your restaurant,” Frisk offered, suddenly wanting to taste his cooking. If he and Undyne cooked together, then it couldn’t be half bad, right?

Papyrus jabbed a finger in the air. “YOU’D BE MOST WELCOME! I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO TASTE MY FAMOUS PASTA. IT’S… VERY ENTICING. KNOWN TO TRAP PEOPLE.”

Not knowing if she should be afraid of eating his pasta or not now, Frisk laughed nervously. That had been a joke, right? There was no real telling with him, because he didn’t wink, laugh or put pressure on a pun like Sans would do.

“Ah, a trap I wouldn’t mind getting trapped in. Count me in.” Frisk said. 

How did monsters like them become thieves, when it appeared as if the skeleton brothers would much rather enjoy a simpler life? Did it have something to do with the fact that they were hitting the minister of immigration? Were they terrorists?

She almost laughed at her silliness. Of course not. Either they just stole for a living, or they had some beef with Wireless Corporations. No need for her to dramatize everything.

Papyrus led her to the opposite wing of where the dining hall and Frisk’s room was. His room overlooked the front yard, though he quickly pulled the curtains closed. She pretended not to notice. Some day, Asgore would get over his irrational fear of letting her see the barren surroundings outside.

The room looked fairly sized. She imagined at least three rows of bunk beds could’ve been housed in there when it was an orphanage, and the room itself was bigger than hers. Papyrus’ walls were painted a deep purple, and lit up nicely with colors all around in his furniture. In contrast to the sterile white hallways, it was nice to have a colorful change of pace. He had a purple and turquoise waved patterned carpet on the floor, that Frisk felt bad about stepping on with her shoes, though he said he didn’t mind. There was an orange race car in the corner next to the window, which had purple covers to help color up the room as well. His desk under the window was used as a display for his action figurines, but Frisk couldn’t tell which ones they represented. 

“Who are they?” She asked, carefully picking one up in her hands. In a second, Papyrus stood beside her, face brightening up in an excited smile as he explained each figurine’s story and powers. Some had powers, others only had their bravery and fists to fight with, which Frisk thought was kind of cool. He told her about his favorite superhero; Spaghettorian, who was a superhero, who specialized in trapping his victims in his homemade pasta.

“NOT ONLY PASTA!” He erupted, opening a box underneath the desk filled with comic books to find one with the title ‘SPAGHETTORIAN - REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED WITH PASTA’ on it. He browsed through the pages, finally finding the strip he was looking for. With a skeletal finger, he pointed to a picture where the superhero threw an explosive cake at his enemies, covering them in dripping chocolate.

“SEE? AS A GOOD COOK, HE KNOWS WHAT VALUE OTHER FOODS CAN HAVE, EVEN THOUGH NONE COME AS CLOSE AS SPAGHETTI. SOMEDAY I WISH TO BE HIM. I DREAM IT! I _WILL_ BE HIM! I WILL GAIN THE RECOGNITION I TRULY DESERVE!” He paused very briefly to take a deep breath, gazing dreamily at the comic book. Frisk almost felt like she was interrupting a moment between the two.

“THEN. _THEN._ I WILL SAVE THE WORLD WITH MY PASTA. FIVE STAR CHEFS WILL COME TO GAZE UPON MY MASTERPIECE, WISHING TO LEARN MY SECRETS! SADLY, I WILL BREAK THEIR HEARTS. THERE IS NO SECRET TO PASTA! ONLY WATER, PASTA AND FIRE. THE THREE ELEMENTS.”

Frisk nodded solemnly. Papyrus put the comic book away with the others, sighing happily as he did so. It made Frisk realize that he was a living being too, with an actual personality, and not just one of the members of Asgore’s crew. She was starting to look at him in a new way.

“Oh! What’s that? A pirate flag?” She asked, having seen it next to a big bookshelf on the other wall. The only other furniture in the room was a different desk with a computer and a chair. “That’s cool. Where’d you get it?” 

Instantly, Papyrus jumped over to the flag in question, running a few fingers over it in admiration. He turned to her with a serious face.

“I FOUND IT IN A CAVE NEAR THE OCEAN, WHEN ME AND THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS WERE EXPLORING. IT’S QUITE THE PLACE, WITH MANY TREASURES! MAYBE I CAN TAKE YOU SOMETIME.”

Exploring a dark cave with treasures? Count Frisk in.

“That sounds awesome!” She exclaimed, jumping up and down in the spot. She hadn’t really been to the beach a lot, not to mention a giant cave. “We could do a picnic thing, if you want. When the job is over, I mean.” 

She shrugged, like she didn’t care if he said no. Luckily, Papyrus didn’t care about playing it cool.

“WHAT A GREAT IDEA! MS. JOHNSON, I WILL MAKE SURE WE HAVE A SANDY TIME!”

“I’m already excited!” And that actually wasn’t a lie. Papyrus seemed like a nice guy to go on adventures with. She could see why the crew liked him, though she still didn't know what he saw in Mettaton, the douchebag. 

“WE WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF GOLDEN COINS, AND PERHAPS LATER WE WILL TAKE A DIP IN THE OCEAN, TOO. ONLY BAD THING IS THAT I CAN’T…” He sighed in defeat. 

“You can’t what?” Frisk asked after having waited for some time. 

“I CAN’T…”

“...Can’t?”

“I CAN’T SWIM!” He barked out, clapping his hands in front of his mouth soon after, like he was embarrassed about it. 

Frisk could understand where he was coming from. Man, this skeleton was already a really good friend.

“Me too! God, I thought I was the only one! Do you know someone who might teach us? Can Alphys swim, do you think?”

He nodded. “YES, BUT SHE IS USELESS IN TEACHING IT! TRUST ME, SHE’S ALREADY TRIED ON THE BEST STUDENT AROUND, MANY TIMES. I’M AFRAID SHE’LL NEVER BE A GREAT TEACHER. PERHAPS SOMEONE ELSE WILL DO.”

Frisk carefully sat on his bed as their conversation went on, glancing at him as she did to make sure he was alright with it. Papyrus just kept standing, which made the height difference even worse.

“Asriel, then?”

“ALSO USELESS. HE HAS TRIED TO TEACH ME, TOO. FINDING A GOOD TEACHER IS HARD THESE DAYS.”

Frisk sighed. She kind of figured where this was going.

“Sans?” She asked, though she desperately tried to ignore the blush that gathered in her cheeks as she envisioned what it would be like to have him teach her how to swim in her bathing suit. She quickly wiped the picture from her brain. 

“ALL HE DOES AT THE BEACH IS LIE AND DO NOTHING THE ENTIRE TIME! ALSO NO.”

Frisk was running out of options here. Maybe she’d just stay in the low end.

“Undyne then? Surely she’ll know. Dammit, she’s a fish!” She erupted, though the thought of having Undyne teach her wasn’t that alluring. She’d probably scream at Frisk during the whole ordeal.

“UNDYNE? THAT’S A GREAT IDEA! IF SHE ISN’T BUSY PLAYING VOLLEYBALL WITH ASRIEL…”

Volleyball sounded nice as well. Again, Frisk had never tried it, but it wouldn’t hurt to give it a go. If Asriel could teach her, she’d probably learn quickly. Unlike Undyne, he seemed like the patient type.

“Maybe we could-“ Frisk started, interrupted by a surprising knock on the door.

She whipped her head away from Papyrus to look at the door, just as he said, “COME IN.”

She had a hope that it would be Sans or Mettaton that would come to apologize for being douches, and she was happily correct when they stood next to each other in the hallway after they’d gently opened the door. Sans scratched the back of his skull, and Mettaton looked terrible. 

One thing was true at least, even if the devilish robot hated _her_ , he sure did love Papyrus. He looked awful after what had happened in the dining hall.

They stepped inside, closing the door after themselves to get some privacy. There was a moment where Frisk debated whether or not to step outside, but neither the skeletons nor Mettaton seemed to mind.

“paps, look…” Sans started, walking over to put a hand on his arm. Mettaton shot him a glare that sharply broke away to the floor almost immediately, like he was forcing himself to stop sending daggers at Sans’ back. Frisk was the only one that noticed. 

“what happened back at breakfast… i’m really sorry. it won’t happen again. i’m happy for ya, even if it means that you’re with that selfish scrap of junk-“

Mettaton coughed rather snootily, reminding Sans to stay on track. 

Frisk was glad that they’d come to their senses. Hopefully, their ceaseless bickering would stop from now on.

“My name is _Mettaton_ , Sansy. Say it, it’d suit your face.”

Papyrus found the floor very interesting as he averted his gaze from theirs. “APOLOGIZE? WHAT FOR? I HADN’T EVEN NOTICED ANYTHING WAS OFF… HEH HEH.” He laughed awkwardly, rubbing his spinal cord.

Frisk got ready to step in with a topic changer, but she found it wasn’t necessary.

“Darling, I’m sorry that I acted so maliciously while you saw! I just don’t know what came over me!”

“the devil,” Sans whispered so low that Frisk barely heard, but she glared at him to show that she did. He shrugged helplessly. She knew how he felt. The guy could be the worst when he decided to.

Papyrus finally looked up, locking eye contact with Mettaton. There was a new blush under his eyes. 

“O-OH IT WAS NOTHING. YOU KNOW ME, I CAN HANDLE EVERYTHING!”

Mettaton pushed through Sans so he could hug his boyfriend, muttering all kinds of excuses that only Papyrus could hear. Sans rolled his eyes and sat next to Frisk in the bed to get away from the robot, now that Papyrus seemed to have forgotten all about the two of them.

“So, training?” She asked, about ready to get away from the viper that had taken over the room. How Papyrus could get a loving reaction out of Mettaton was beyond her understanding. Sans nodded enthusiastically.

“thought you’d never ask. let’s give the lovebirds some privacy, yeah?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys think this chapter was too long? I personally thought I could do better length-wise, which is why I doubled the length today. Let me know what you prefer!


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